In a Minute There is Time
by thebluefeather
Summary: Over five hundred years, and they never seem to have enough time. Becoming a vampire is the most terrible thing that can happen to a witch, but if love is a vampire's greatest weakness, why did his save her life? Sofia, turned bitter and bloodthirsty by a lifetime of loss that she never asked for, is forced to choose between her greatest love and her only dream. [ON HIATUS]
1. Chapter 1

"Are you Matt?"

Matt looked up as the girl approached his table at the Grill. She looked put-together and definitely not like some kind of psycho. She looked like good roommate material.

"Yeah, I am. Sophie, right?" He motioned for her to join him in the booth.

"That's me." She smiled as she slid onto the seat and nervously smoothed her hands over her two French braids. "How's the food here? I'm absolutely starving."

"It's good. How do you feel about fries?" Matt asked as he waved a waiter over.

"Fries are fine," Sophie replied. She remained quiet as he placed their order, tapping one nail in a harsh staccato against the wooden tabletop.

"So, you're interested in the room?"

"Yes. I just came to town, and I saw your ad in the paper."

Matt frowned slightly. Sophie didn't look any older than he did, but she moved to Mystic Falls on her own? "So it's just you?"

"You're asking where my parents are," she assessed, causing Matt to blush slightly at his bluntness. "No, don't worry, I'm not offended. My parents are out of the picture, and I was recently…emancipated from my guardian."

"Ah, ok. Um, so where did you live before this?" He didn't really want to pry, but if he was going to be renting out a room in his house to some stranger, he'd kind of like to figure out if she was going to be a nightmare _before _she was living with him.

She seemed to contemplate her answer for a moment, fiddling with the end of one of her caramel-colored braids. "Well, I've moved around a lot, but I was most recently in Istanbul."

"Istanbul. Wow."

Their fries arrived, thankfully, and Matt was saved from embarrassing himself further in front of his admittedly quite pretty possible future roommate. But when Sophie reached for the food, the ring on the fourth finger of her right hand caught his eye.

"Nice ring," he commented flatly, making sure to catch her brown eyes. "That's an unusual stone."

Sophie swallowed, placing her hands carefully in her lap. To her credit, her gaze didn't waver. "So you're in the know."

"Yeah, you could say that," he sneered. Matt was getting really tired of vampires. They were everywhere—worse than cockroaches. And just as hard to kill.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know if you already knew about us! I know there's a lot of supernatural activity here, I just wasn't sure how to broach the subject," she defended herself.

"Listen, I'm sure you're a nice person and all, but I don't think—"

"Wait!" She reached a hand across the table towards him, but let it drop awkwardly at his quick recoil. "I promise—I only drink from blood bags, and I'll bring my own mini fridge. You won't even notice the difference. I just really need somewhere to stay, and I'd rather not compel someone for a place that's outside my budget."

Matt leaned back against the seat and looked her over. With her wide brown eyes and small stature, Sophie didn't appear very threatening, but looks could be deceiving. Sure, she might be one of the good vampires, but there was no way for him to prove that. However, he also really needed the money.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

Sophie squared her shoulders, as a smile began to play about the corners of her mouth. "I believe we have a mutual enemy, and she's the reason why I'm in town."

"Who?"

"Katherine Pierce."

* * *

"Are you _serious?!" _ Caroline hissed, grabbing Matt's forearm and dragging him into the nearby girls' restroom.

"Hey! He can't—"

Caroline clapped her hand over the mouth of the girl in front of the mirror. _"Leave." _

The girl left, a vacant expression on her face.

"Care, chill. We can trust her."

"Chill? Don't tell me to chill!" she shrieked. Matt took a step back. "She's an unknown vampire, and you just rented her a room in your house!"

Matt crossed his arms over his chest. He liked Sophie; she was cool. She'd moved in the day before, coming with only a single suitcase and a mini fridge. After she was settled, they ordered pizza, watched movies, and just hung out. She was a bit secretive about her past, but she seemed like she would have been a good, responsible girl as a human. And more importantly, she'd kept her word, setting up the fridge in her room and leaving the main one in the kitchen blood bag free.

"Yeah, I did. She said she'd help us take down Katherine, and last time I checked, that makes her our ally," Matt defended his new roommate.

Caroline huffed, tossing her hair. "What reason does she have for wanting to kill the bitch? Not that I blame her…"

"Sophie said Katherine killed her mom. I think that's a pretty good reason." Matt leaned back against the sink, allowing Caroline a chance to come to her senses. He knew her wariness came from a place of love, so he tried to be patient with her.

"What makes her think she'd be able to help us, anyway?" Caroline challenged.

"Well, she's over five hundred years old. You're the vampire, so I'm pretty sure you know that makes her a hell of a lot stronger than the Salvatores."

Caroline pouted slightly, and Matt restrained himself from grinning in victory.

_"Fine," _she grumbled. "But I want to meet her, and Stefan has to meet her too, to make sure she's safe."

"Whatever you need, Care. She's here at school, so let's go find her."

Matt led the way out of the bathroom and through the crowded hallways towards Sophie's locker. Just like he'd asked, she was waiting for him, nose buried in a book and customary long braids resting against her shoulder blades. She looked up a moment before they reached her, a tentative smile stretching across her face.

"Caroline, this is Sophie. Sophie—Caroline," he introduced the two and watched warily as the much taller blonde eyed the smaller girl up and down.

Finally, Caroline stuck out her hand. "Welcome to Mystic Falls. It's nice to meet you."

Sophie tucked her book under her arm and took Caroline's hand. "I know you don't trust me, but I want to kill Katherine as much as the rest of you."

"I doubt that—she did smother me with a pillow."

"She tore out my mother's throat and drowned me in the bathtub. Believe me, I want her dead."

Matt started. She hadn't shared that Katherine had also been the one to kill her. Had she been turned on purpose, or was it an accident? If she hadn't shared on her own, he wasn't going to be the one to ask her.

Caroline gave a firm nod. "Well, no one can say the bitch doesn't deserve it."

Sophie chuckled at the other girl. "No, they certainly can't."

* * *

Sofia followed Matt and Caroline into the history classroom, sliding into an empty desk near the windows. She pulled out her class materials, organizing them neatly on the desktop before leaning back in her chair and smoothing the wrinkles from her blue dress.

Everything was going according to plan.

There was the slight hiccup with Matt being so distrustful of vampires—she had observed him before their meeting at The Grill and thought him ignorant, and perhaps a bit simple, but that turned out to not be the case at all. It was no matter, however, because she'd gotten the room anyway. As an unexpected bonus, it turned out that Matt was actually rather good company, and living with him would be plenty tolerable.

The baby vampire, Caroline, wouldn't be too hard to befriend. They could bond over their shared hatred of Katerina.

But any minute, Stefan Salvatore was going to walk through the classroom door, and he would be a much harder hurdle to jump. She knew he was not just intelligent, but also shrewd, and according to Matt, he was dating the current doppelganger. In other words, he was going to be very protective of the girl she was planning to offer up for sacrifice. It could be a problem.

Not to mention, she'd spent over fifteen years with Damon Salvatore in the 1920's and 30's. And she had no idea how to broach that subject with any of her new acquaintances. _Best to leave it alone for now, _she decided.

"Alright class," the teacher called everyone to attention from the front of the room, interrupting her plotting. "Please open your textbooks to page 398 so we can continue with our discussion on the 1940's."

Ah, the 40's. Alas, she'd been…out of commission for that decade. And the following six, as well.

As Sofia opened up her text and notebook to take notes, she cast a surreptitious glance around the students. No doppelgänger, and no Stefan either. A quick listen to the heartbeats verified that she and Caroline were the only vampires in the room.

So it would seem the current doppelgänger liked to skip class. _It figures. _There were few things Sofia hated more than a slacker. It didn't matter if the girl didn't show; she'd probably find her with the Salvatore brothers when she went to see Damon that afternoon as she planned. She could only hope that a Damon with his humanity switch _on_ would remember all of the good times they'd had with their switches _off_, and extend her the courtesy due to an old friend.

Otherwise, it was going to be very difficult to weasel her way into the gang of teenagers and gain their trust. And she was running out of time.

After school, Sofia bid goodbye to Matt and Caroline and made her way over to the Salvatore boarding house. As she pulled into the driveway, she couldn't help but shake her head. The Damon she knew would never be caught living somewhere so…rustic.

The Damon she remembered liked to sleep all day and then drink his way through illegal alcohol and the jugulars of partygoers until the sun came up. When she'd met him in 1919, humanity freshly shut off, his monstrous behavior had made him the perfect partner in crime—the perfect distraction. She could only hope that their past friendship—no matter that it was based in bloodshed and debauchery—afforded her some modicum of his trust.

Finding herself before the front door, Sofia took a fortifying breath, attempted to tuck some of her wild curls back into their braids, and knocked twice upon the door.

She waited, but there was no answer. She could hear muffled voices coming from inside, however, and deciding that she didn't want to continue standing on the doorstep, she just let herself in.

"Hello?" she called, standing in the bright rectangle of light cast into the dark hallway by the open door. "Damon?"

No sooner had the words passed her lips than she was pinned against the wall, the hand of an unfamiliar vampire wrapped around her neck. _Fool. _ In a single breath, she had the vampire on his back, her foot pressed firmly into his sternum.

She bared her teeth and snarled down at him. "Keep your hands—"

"_Sophie?" _

Sofia looked up, startled, and then let her face break into a smile. "Damon. Just the man I was looking for." She kept her foot on the other vampire's chest.

"Not that this isn't a pleasant surprise, but what're you doing here, Soph?"

Damon crossed his arms over his black t-shirt, looking her up and down. She must look very different from the last time he'd seen her; she was back on the rails, playing the part of the good vampire—and looking the part was a requirement for the role. Her prim, knee length dress and simple cardigan certainly did the job. Although, pinning someone to the ground with her foot probably wasn't helping her trustworthy image.

She gingerly removed her foot, stepping delicately to the side while the other vampire got to his feet and went to stand beside Damon.

"I heard an old friend of mine was in town," she replied, a wicked grin playing at the corners of her mouth.

Damon smirked knowingly. They both owed quite a lot of misery to the infamous Katerina Petrova—or _Katherine Pierce, _rather, whatever she went by these days.

"Who is she talking about?" the other vampire asked, his tone displeased.

"Well, baby bro, Sophie here has a bit of a score to settle with Katherine."

Sofia frowned. _That _was Stefan Salvatore? But she'd overcome him so easily. Sure, he was a couple hundred years her junior, but she'd expected a brother of Damon's to be stronger than that or at least put up a better fight.

"You must be Stefan, then." Sofia extended her hand to him. "Sorry about that."

Stefan took her hand, giving it a perfunctory shake. "Apology excepted. So, you're a friend of Damon's then?"

"We ran together in the 20's and early 30's."

"Wreaked havoc together, you mean," Damon chimed in. "Come on Soph, let's get you a drink and you can fill me on the past seventy-plus years." Damon gestured for them to follow him deeper into the house, and after sending a wary glance at Stefan—who was not giving off very friendly vibes—she followed.

The boarding house was more richly decorated on the inside than she would have expected from the exterior, though it was a bit too dark and opulent for her tastes. She felt a fleeting yearning for a breezy house with windows open to the tropical air, the sound of crashing waves intermingled with boisterous laughter. _That was a long time ago, _she reminded herself. A long time ago indeed, but she'd never been so happy.

Damon led the way into the sunken living room, and Sofia immediately picked out the doppelgänger, perched on the sofa and fidgeting nervously with her hands. It was instantly apparent that the girl was not Sofia's murderer—Katerina did not fidget.

"Really Damon, another doppelgänger?"

Damon pointedly ignored her and focused on fixing her a drink from the assortment of crystal decanters, but she noticed Stefan's eyebrows furrow slightly at her statement. That wasn't good. She had to be more careful. It wouldn't do to reveal how much she knew.

"She's Stefan's little girlfriend, actually." Damon smirked ruefully as he placed the tumbler of bourbon in her waiting hand. "Sophie, please say hello to Elena Gilbert. Elena, this is Sophie, one of my old partners in crime, and a fellow enemy of Katherine's."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Elena," Sofia said, thanking biology for giving her a naturally un-intimidating stature. The doppelgänger girl already looked more wary than a deer staring down the barrel of a hunting rifle. "And Damon, you really shouldn't introduce me like that. It doesn't exactly inspire confidence."

Damon rolled his eyes. "Allow me to clarify, then. Soph suffered from a dreadful bout of heartbreak, switched her humanity off, she and I became mutually bad influences on each other, and then she ditched me to go defend her country in a war. While I am always a destructive influence, humanity or not, darling Sophie is actually quite a nice person, so you can stop looking like she's about to take someone's head off."

Sofia sighed. "That wasn't any better."

"You should probably let people introduce themselves from now on, don't you think?" Stefan cast his brother a weary look, and Damon only gave him a snotty glance in return.

"It's ok," Elena finally spoke, and if it hadn't been for her pounding heartbeat, Sofia wouldn't have even known how nervous the other girl was. She was impressed. "It's nice to meet you, Sophie. And I can't see how anyone could have been a bad influence on Damon."

Sofia choked on a laugh. "You mean because he's a bad as it gets?"

"Something like that."

"This probably won't make you feel any better, but Damon's capacity for evil behavior is far from refined. I've met worse—though he would probably take that as an insult."

"Are you talking about Katherine?"

Sofia smiled tightly. _Not even close, doppelgänger. _

Damon cleared his throat and clamped a hand down on Sofia's shoulder. "As much as it would just tickle me if you two became besties, why don't you and Stefan go play elsewhere so Sophie and I can get caught up?" he spoke pointedly to Elena.

Elena and Stefan's faces quickly assumed expressions of _not amused_, but they made their departures, leaving Sofia and Damon alone in the living room.

"Sooo…what're you doing here, Soph?" Damon asked, sprawling himself onto one of the sofas.

Sofia settled herself onto the one across from him, taking a sip from her glass of bourbon—and instantly regretting it, as she'd never developed a taste for the liquor. "I heard a whisper that Katherine Pierce had returned to Mystic Falls."

"And that's it? You hear your old enemy is in town and you drop everything in wherever you've been for the past seven decades to come exact your revenge?"

"That's it. I didn't have anything better to do. There's been no word of her since 1864, so I didn't want to miss such a golden opportunity."

So maybe she was leaving out a few important details, but Damon didn't need to know that.

"Well, no one can say you don't know how to hold a grudge," he said with a touch of approval. "But seriously, where have you been? You left me to go defend your home turf, but last time I checked, the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939."

"Someone knows their history."

"Sophie."

"_Fine," _Sofia huffed. "I decided to check out after the war ended. I don't know if you heard, but it was a pretty brutal defeat. Have you ever watched bombs fall on the city you were born in?"

It wasn't a lie. Witnessing the war was devastating. But it also wasn't the reason that no one had heard from her since it ended, either.

"Did you forget that I fought for the Confederacy? If you needed help, I could have helped you. You said you would come back."

But she didn't come back. She was physically incapable. But that was a little hard to explain.

"I'm sorry." She couldn't quite meet his eyes, wary of the betrayal she saw there. There were very few people who hadn't let Damon down in his life. It was a harsh blow, realizing that she wasn't one of them.

Damon waved his hand, brushing it off. Sharing time was over.

"So, how are you planning to deal with Katherine? I know about the Curse and that it puts Elena in danger. And I want that bitch to die for good this time."

"Can I trust you, Soph? Because we could really use your help."

_Can you trust me? Sure, I'm only planning to hand your brother's girlfriend over to Klaus as a bargaining chip. _

"Of course you can trust me."

* * *

**Lost of questions left unanswered...Feel free to drop a _review _and tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Now we start to get some back story. **_

_**Also, there's some Catalan spoken in this chapter. Sofia comes from Barcelona, which in the 1400s was part of the kingdom of Catalonia, which had just been united with the kingdom of Aragon under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Being a citizen of Catalonia and not a member of the upper class, Catalan is the only language Sofia would speak. Now, my Catalan is mediocre at best on a very good day, so I had to use a translator. If any of you have linguistic corrections for me, they would be much appreciated!**_

**Because I forgot last chapter and probably will continue to for all subsequent chapters: I do not own any material related to The Vampire Diaries or The Originals. No money is being made from this work. **

* * *

_England - Late August, 1492_

_ The inside of the castle was very dark. And very cold. And very boring. Sofia missed Barcelona. She missed the narrow, winding streets with their crumbling Roman arches. She missed the colorful markets, bursting with life and fresh mysteries to discover in every stall. But she missed the food most of all. English food was horrible. _

_ Sofia had one of Elijah's traveling journals tucked under her arm—a generous gift from the author himself, and the most fascinating thing she had ever read—and she'd been looking for a place to settle in to read. The kitchens were not as promising as she had hoped. They all smelled like mutton stew. _

_ So Sofia made her way to the back exit on the ground floor that would lead her out into the courtyard. The fresh air was better than staying outside, even if it was cool and cloudy—just like the day before, and the day before that. But when she stepped out into the courtyard, bunching her skirts in one fist to avoid dragging them on the muddy ground, she was surprised to see the sun shining down at her from a pale blue sky. She felt like it was just for her. _

_ Heading for a quiet garden that Elijah had shown her on her second day at the castle, Sofia took a shortcut through the stables, clucking softly at the horses as she passed._

_ "What are you doing in here, little love?" _

_ Sofia jumped at the unexpected voice, whirling around to find its source. _

_ "I believe you dropped this." _

_ Sofia turned around to see Klaus standing before her, Elijah's journal clutched in his hand. She must have dropped it in fright. _

_ "Gràcies, Senyor Niklaus," she replied shyly, taking the journal. _

_ "Please, call me Klaus." _

_ Sofia nodded, wishing she could remember more of her English lessons. _

_ "That is one of my brother's journals, is it not?" _

_ "It is. They are…" Sofia paused, forming the words carefully in her mind. "Very good." _

_ "And what are you doing wandering the stables in the middle of the day?" _

_ Sofia opened and closed her mouth. What had he said? She didn't understand, he spoke so quickly. _

_ "Sorry, senyor, I—" _

_ "Jo vaig dir, per què estàs vagant els estables?" Klaus repeated his question in Catalan, and she sighed in relief. _

_ "És el meu aniversari, però la meva mare està massa ocupat per jugar amb el meu," she told him glumly_. (It is my birthday, but my mother is too busy to play with me.)

"_Ah, vostè és la filla de la bruixa. Quants anys tens, petita bruixa?" _(Ah, you are the witch's daughter. How old are you, little witch?)

"_Sóc onze, senyor," she said proudly. _(I am eleven, sir.)

"_Això és un aniversari molt important," he said with a contemplative smile. "Digues-me, petita bruixa, sap vostè com muntar un cavall?" _(That is a very important birthday.) (Tell me, little witch, do you know how to ride a horse?)

_"Jo no," she replied sadly. _(I do not.)

_"T'agradaria aprendre?" he asked, and Sofia gave an excited nod. "Jo t'ensenyaré. Considera-ho un regal d'aniversari." _(Would you like to learn?) (I will teach you. Consider it a birthday present.)

_Sofia could barely contain her excitement, but she was also wary. Her mother told her not to trust the Lord Niklaus. Though Klaus was the one for whom her mother would perform the ritual, she was to avoid him and only speak to his brother, Elijah, if she required anything. _

_ "Per què m'ofereixes una cosa tan generós?" _(Why do you offer me something so generous?)

_"Perquè estic avorrit." _(Because I am bored.)

* * *

"Where are you off to? We just got home!" Sofia cried, dropping herself onto the couch in the living room, watching as Matt quickly set his schoolbag on the coffee table and prepared to depart again.

"Tyler's. We're setting up for the masquerade party tomorrow. Wanna help?"

She shot him an amused glance. "Nice try, but I don't plan on getting off this couch for the next hour."

"Figured you'd say something like that," Matt chuckled. "Well, I'll see you later tonight."

"Bye!" she called to his back as he left through the front door.

Sofia was exhausted. Playing the part of some sweet, friendly vampire that just happened to be willing to help take out their enemy was _exhausting. _ But she'd spent the last seventy years resting—in a manner of speaking—and some things were more important than avoiding mental fatigue. She had goals.

But maybe she could just close her eyes for an hour…

_Buzz. _

Sofia groaned and pulled her phone out of the pocket in her wool skirt, seeing a text from Damon on the screen. Of course he would be the one to rob her of a nap.

_**Soph**__, _she read. _**We've got new info. Get your ass over here. **_

_** On my way, **_she replied, tapping the screen with unnecessary force.

Ten minutes later, Sofia let herself into the boarding house, following the sound of voices to the living room.

"According to the legend," Alaric was speaking as he handed a piece of paper to Jeremy, "the werewolf part of the curse is sealed with the moonstone."

Sofia had to keep a smile to herself. It was always entertaining when one of Klaus' bullshit drawings turned up.

Jeremy nodded to her when he spotted her in the doorway before turning back to Alaric. "What do you mean, sealed?"

"It's how witches give strength to their spells," Sofia chimed in, having gathered the gist of what they were discussing. "Whatever seals the curse is almost always the key to unsealing it, as well."

Sofia gave Damon a friendly nudge with her elbow before dropping into a chair, crossing her legs and fiddling with a hole in her tights.

"Maybe Mason Lockwood believes he can use the moonstone to break the curse," Alaric mused.

Sofia almost felt bad, letting them all believe in the stupid curse. Almost.

"If we start believing in some supernatural witchy-woo legend from a picture book, we're idiots." Sofia rolled her eyes at Damon's usual lack of respect for witchcraft. No wonder Bonnie, the Bennett witch, hated him so much. "Who has the stone now?"

"Tyler," Jeremy replied.

"Can you get it?" Damon asked in a tone of voice that implied he found Jeremy a bit slow.

"Yeah," Jeremy spoke confidently

"See? Now your life has purpose."

Damon could be _such _an ass sometimes.

"So do you believe it?" Jeremy asked, obviously referring to the curse and all its associated mythology.

"It's the same book that says a werewolf bite kills a vampire," she chimed in. "Ignoring it would make him an even bigger idiot."

Damon glared briefly in her direction. "Let's just go."

* * *

After a drive across town, for which Damon had demoted her to the backseat as punishment for her snarky commentary, she, Jeremy, and Damon all piled out of the Camaro and into the Lockwood's driveway.

"Okay, so we all know the plan?" Damon asked, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.

"Yes," said Jeremy, heading off into the party without a second glance.

"No?" Sofia asked.

"You, go mingle. Make friends with the food."

"Must I?"

"Yes, because I need to go talk to Elena, and she doesn't trust you yet."

Sofia couldn't exactly argue with that logic.

"Fine. Just—Damon," she called to him before he turned to head inside, "—don't go getting in the middle of another love triangle with your brother. Family is more important than that."

Damon's expression turned inscrutable, but he gave her a tense nod before disappearing into the mansion. He was doomed.

After a quick survey of the goings on out on the lawn, Sofia found Matt and Tyler hanging large, colorful paper lanterns in one of the tents.

"…raging jealous freak the next," Matt was saying as she approached the boys.

"Hey guys," she greeted them. "Who are we talking about now?"

"Sophie," Tyler gave her his best grin, eyeing her up and down.

"Tyler," she sighed in response. He was such a puppy.

"Look," Tyler returned his attention to Matt. "You know what I think about Caroline Forbes. She's an insecure, bitchy, neurotic little twit."

"Hey!" Matt looked shocked.

Sofia leveled a glare at Tyler. True, Caroline could be a little annoying, but she felt a sort of kinship with the girl. Katerina had murdered the both of them, after all.

"But the girl's got heart!" Tyler defended himself quickly. "She means well—you've just got to take the good with the bad sometimes."

"Yeah…" Matt shrugged and held up an orange lantern. "I'm gonna go get an extension cord. I'll be right back."

As Matt disappeared, she caught Jeremy's eye and gave him a slight nod. "I'm gonna wander," she said quickly to Tyler. "I need to find Damon."

"Alright. Hey, Sophie!" he called after her.

"Yes?"

"Are you coming tomorrow night, to the masquerade?"

Sometimes she missed being seventeen for real. They were all so earnest. "I haven't decided yet, honestly."

"Well you should. It's a good time."

"I'll try to make it then."

Sofia wound her way through the various tents and groups of volunteers, looking for someone she recognized, when she felt a hand clamp down on her elbow.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking up at Damon and then behind to where Stefan and Bonnie were following at a fast pace.

"Uncle werewolf has the moonstone and has been getting frisky with Katherine. Ergo, we need a favor from our little witchy friend."

"I'm not your friend," Bonnie piped up.

Damon rolled his eyes. "Okay, Judgey. Acquaintance then. Maybe Soph can be your friend, seeing as the two of you have so much in common."

"What is he talking about?" the witch asked, looking curiously at Sofia as the group stopped on a secluded pavilion.

Sofia shot a glare at Damon before answering Bonnie. "I was a witch before I was turned…against my will. I miss my magic every day."

That might have been the most honest thing she'd said since arriving in Mystic Falls.

"I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine." Bonnie's eyes were filled with pity, and Sofia felt a brief urge to gouge them out.

"So, Bon-Bon, favor?" Doman interrupted.

"It's not gonna happen." Bonnie stuck her chin in the air defiantly.

"So predictable." Damon didn't sound distressed by her declaration, and only patted his brother on the shoulder. "That's why I brought him."

"I know how you feel about helping us out, but since you're the one that linked Mason with Katherine, we finally have an opportunity to get the upper hand on both of them, so just hear us out," Stefan spoke in that serious way of his, pleading with his overly emotive eyes.

"Pretty please," Damon simpered.

Bonnie gave Sofia a thoughtful look before addressing the Salvatore brothers, "I'm listening."

They were interrupted by the ringtone of Stefan's phone, and he gave them an apologetic glance. "I have to fill Elena in on what's going on. Can you play nice? Please?"

"I don't trust you," Bonnie all but snarled the second Stefan left.

"Tell me something I don't know."

"I think you may need to brush up on the definition of 'playing nice'," Sofia interjected, looking pointedly between the pair.

"Look," Damon turned his best pleading face on Bonnie. "All you have to do is touch Mason Lockwood again and see if he gave Katherine the moonstone."

"My visions don't work like that. I don't get to ask questions."

"How inconvenient."

"Don't be an ass," Sofia grumbled under her breath. She wished they would all just cooperate. It would make her life so much easier.

Damon pointedly ignored her comment and continued plying Bonnie. "Although, let's talk about that little witchy ju-ju thing you do to me. You know, the fun one where my brain bursts into flames? What is that?"

"That's me, giving you an aneurysm. Your blood vessels go pop, but you heal quickly, so I do it over and over again."

"Oh I miss that," Sofia sighed fondly. It was such a simple spell, but always so satisfying.

"You little sadist." Damon smirked down at her before speaking to Bonnie. "Is it vampire specific?"

"It'd work on anyone with a supernatural healing ability." The witch was starting to look real fed up with all his questions.

"Good. Good, good," Damon nodded to himself.

"Damon, I'm not gonna help you hurt him," said Bonnie, her voice firm.

"Bonnie," Sofia stepped in, hoping to smooth things over. "I know you don't know me very well, but I wasn't always a vampire. I was a witch once, so with that in mind, please trust me when I tell you that Katherine and Mason are the bad guys," she spoke pleadingly. _Please, Bonnie, _Sofia whined inside her head. _I've waited too long for this to fail just because you hate Damon Salvatore. _

Then Damon opened his mouth again, unhelpfully as usual. "They're a threat to Elena. So you, _witch—"_

Sofia stomped on his foot to shut him up. "Please, Bonnie. We need your help."

Bonnie sighed, and it was clear the battle was won. "Okay. I'll do it."

* * *

_England - Late November, 1492_

_ It was pouring rain. Again. Sofia sat in the middle of the drafty corridor, focusing intently on a steady stream of water that flowed in from an imperfection in the fit of the glass panes in the stone window. _

_ She was supposed to be freezing the water, but so far had achieved nothing. She had to bite her tongue to keep from speaking. Her mother said that incantations were for witches that lacked focus and intention. Although considering that she couldn't even freeze a single drop of water, Sofia wasn't feeling much like any kind of witch at the moment. _

_ She was eleven years old. She _should _be able to make ice. _

_ Sofia took another deep breath, paying special attention to the feeling of the cold air rushing through her nostrils and down the back of her throat. She pulled on that pleasurable pressure that always seemed to be buzzing right under her skin, and willed with all her might. _

_She opened her eyes to the sound of clapping. She had been so intent on her task that she had not heard the doppelganger's approach. The young woman stood a few feet away, looking lovely in a gown of green. _

_ Sofia felt a heat in her throat at the sudden flare of jealousy. This was the closest se had been to the girl that was stealing all of Klaus and Elijah's attention. She hadn't had a riding lesson in almost two weeks! _

_ But then the older girl smiled, a look of awe on her beautiful face. "That was amazing! How did you do that?"_

_ "Do—" Sofia looked to the water, only to find a perfect, shimmering rivulet of ice running from the windowsill to the floor. "Ho vaig fer!" _(I did it!) _She quickly got to her feet, not wanting to be sitting on the floor. "It is magic," she answered the other girl's question, feeling quite proud of her English. Elijah had been teaching her. _

_ "Could you teach me to do that?" _

_ "No. You are not a witch," Sofia replied, wishing she knew the words to be more polite. _

_ The other girl's face fell. "Oh, that is too bad. Can you do anything else?" _

_ Sofia nodded, and reached for a wilted purple flower that the doppelganger had tucked behind her ear. She closed the little blossom in her hands, and when she opened them, there it sat, looking as if it had been freshly picked. "Like new," she said, presenting the revived flower proudly. _

_ "You are a miracle," the older girl breathed, earning a blush from Sofia. "My name is Katerina. What is yours, sweetling?" _

_ "My name is Sofia." _

_ "Where did you learn such tricks, Sofia?" _

_ "My mother taught me. She is Mariona Valentí, the best witch in the world," Sofia boasted proudly. "Lord Elijah came all the way to Catalonia to ask my mother for her help with a special spell." _

_ "She must be a wonderful teacher, for you are very talented," Katerina praised. "And what is this special spell you mother is going to do?" _

_ Sofia blanched; she knew that this girl had some role in the ritual, but her mother would not tell her what. "I am not supposed to talk about it."_

_ Anger flashed across Katerina's face so quickly that Sofia thought she might have imagined it. "No matter, sweetling," she said brightly. "I was going to explore the castle. Would you like to show me around? You must know this place far better than I." _

_ "Of course I will show you," Sofia answered eagerly. _

_ The girls clasped hands and went off down the hall, Sofia happier than she'd been in weeks._

* * *

Sofia stood beside Damon in the living room of the Salvatore boarding house, eyeing the still unconscious and firmly restrained werewolf before them. _Pathetic. _

She cocked her head as she listened to Bonnie and Caroline's conversation in the hall as they discussed the well on the Lockwood property as a potential hiding place for the moonstone.

"They're going after the moonstone," she said, turning to look up at Damon. "Should I join them?"

"And miss all the fun?" Damon's eyes flashed as he snatched a poker from the rack beside the fireplace. "I think your talents are better served here."

With a sudden gasp, Mason rejoined the land of the conscious, struggling violently against the chains that held him in place.

"Ooh, someone's feisty," Damon observed as he rotated the end of the poker over the flames.

Sofia knew where the _conversation _would lead. Not wanting to deal with stains, she removed her jacket and her blouse, leaving her in just a camisole, skirt, and tights.

"What do you want with me?" Mason growled, his eyes flicking nervously between the two vampires. "Who the hell is she? Another bloodsucker?"

Sofia's eyes narrowed at the slur. She approached him until she was close enough to place one stocking covered foot on the chair between his legs. "Shut up," she said, giving the chair a shove and sending the werewolf toppling backwards onto the floor.

Damon approached, a look of approval on his face at her intimidation tactic. He looked down at the incapacitated werewolf, smirking slightly.

"What?" Mason snarled.

Damon answered by sinking the poker into his shoulder with agonizing slowness. "You can hurt. Good to know. I was afraid you were gonna be some beast-man with no affinity for pain." He pushed aside Mason's shirt, viewing the rapidly healing skin. "But you heal quickly—not good."

"I guess you'll just have to keep applying pain?" Sofia chimed in, indulging Damon's dramatics.

"It's stuff like that that reminds me how much I've missed you, Soph," Damon said fondly. "Although we probably shouldn't let the others find out how evil you can be. Being friends with a maniac won't help my image."

He made his way back over to the fire and began to reheat the poker. "So, Katherine. How do you know her? What's she up to? We have all day." He returned and handed Sofia the poker. "Would you like to do the honors?"

She took the length of metal and gleefully stabbed the werewolf in the gut.

* * *

They weren't getting anywhere. Sofia was impressed, really, with the wolf's fortitude. She could have gotten more imaginative and offered up some of the more exceptional methods for extracting information she'd observed over the years, but Damon was enjoying himself, so she kept her mouth shut.

"I thought I told you to _leave." _

Sofia took her eyes off the holes they'd created in Mason's torso at Damon's annoyed tone and found Jeremy standing at the entrance to the living room with a box in his arms.

"I found something in, uh," the kid paused, nervously eyeing Mason, "Ric's box of stuff."

"Ooh!" Damon passed the poker off to Sofia again and rubbed his hands together. "Keep an eye of Fido here," he said to her before joining Jeremy. "What is it?"

Sofia tuned them out as she checked to see how Mason's wounds were healing.

Then something Jeremy was saying caught her attention "…commonly know as aconite or—"

"Wolfsbane," she said, smirking when Mason flinched.

Damon looked to her. "What do you know about this stuff? Cooking herb, or something more useful?"

She bent down to look Mason in the eyes, her brown meeting his blue with a playfully diabolical expression. "It's toxic to werewolves. Like vervain is to us."

"Handy," Damon smirked, taking a handful and coming to stand in front of Mason. ** "**What's Katherine doing in Mystic Falls?" He paused, taking a moment to drag the tip of one of the plants down Mason's cheek. The sound of sizzling flesh filled the room. "Why's she here?"

"She's here with me!" Mason blurted. "Why are you asking, jealous?"

Sofia ran a hand over her face. _Shit. _

Damon's expression hardened. "How rude of me. I just realized, I didn't offer you anything to eat!"

Several feet away, Jeremy flinched as Damon shoved the wolfsbane into Mason's mouth.

"Why do you want the moonstone?" Sofia asked, leaning over the werewolf, so her braids swung over her shoulders and brushed his chest.

"Screw you!" he spat, and bloody spittle splattered across her cheeks. _Disgusting. _

"Wrong answer," Damon said menacingly.

"If he was going to say anything, he would have already!" Jeremy frantically intervened.

Sofia went to lay a restraining hand on his arm, but he shrugged her off.

"I'm taking your eyes next," Damon threatened the wolf.

"The well! You can find it there," their prisoner relented.

"We already know where it is," Sofia said. What was this guy's IQ? 60? "We want to know what is does and why you want it."

"I'm getting it for Katherine."

"Why?" Damon demanded.

"She's gonna use it to lift the curse."

"Of the moon? Now why would a vampire help a werewolf break a curse that keeps them from turning whenever they want?"

"So I wouldn't have to turn anymore."

_Idiot. _Sofia almost felt bad for him.

"Why?" Damon pressed.

"Because she loves me!" Mason growled, straining forward in the chair.

Damon laughed mirthlessly. "Now I get it! You're just stupid!"

Sofia knelt down next to Mason, keeping her expression soft. "Katherine doesn't love you—she's using you. It's what she does, Mason. Believe me, I know."

Mason looked into her eyes, his face unreadable. "I'm done talking."

"Yes, you are," Damon sighed.

Sofia knew what that meant.

"Jeremy, let's take a walk," she said, leaving Damon to finish the job.

"I'm not going anywhere," Jeremy protested.

"Yes you are. Come with me, _now." _

His protests ceased.

"How can you be friends with him?" Jeremy asked once they had made their way outside, sitting down on the grass of the front lawn. "He's a monster."

Sofia picked at the grass beside her, ripping up a few handfuls as she contemplated his words. "We're all monsters. That's the curse of vampirism. It's not like the human world—us monsters have to look out for ourselves. It's kill or be killed."

The words sounded cold, even to her.

"How do you live like that? I heard you're really old, like five hundred years. How have you lived like that for five hundred years?"

His eyes searched her face, but she kept her expression stony, betraying nothing.

"I don't know Jeremy. I don't know."

* * *

**Thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/followed/favorited. If you liked what you read, please leave a _review_! It's the only way I'm going to know what you liked (or didn't). Also it's just nice. **


	3. Chapter 3

_England – Early December, 1492_

_Sofia was in the grain cellar because it was the best place for catching mice. The weather had turned bitter, and the mice, like Sofia, had begun to spend all their time indoors. And like any creature, they did not wander far from their food. _

_ So the grain cellar was where she was, sitting cross-legged on the stone floor with three shallow wooden crates on the ground before her. In the middle crate there were two mice—one gray and one brown. _

_ Sofia picked up the gray mouse; it struggled and squeaked frantically in her grip as if it knew what was coming. _

_ She held it up close to her mouth and whispered, "I'm sorry." _

_ Then she snapped its neck. _

_ She looked down at the dead creature in her hand and made a quick wish that it would not meet the same fate as all of her previous practice subjects. Slightly to her left was another crate that held the bodies of ten other mice. Five failed attempts. Sofia did not like to fail, and she was tired of it. _

_ She picked up the brown mouse in her other hand. Unlike its gray cousin, it simply froze, so overcome with terror that it was unable to move. It was right to be afraid; if she was successful, it was the mouse that would meet and unfortunate fate. _

_ Sofia held the two mice in her hands and closed her eyes, focusing on the energy pulsing within the brown mouse and feeling the hollowness of the gray one. She did not speak. _Incantations are for the weak, _she reminded herself. _

_ She let the energy of the live mouse seep into every groove in her palm, permeating her skin and sluggishly making its way up her arm. She reached for that energy, grasping at it despite its intangibility, and she dragged it to her other palm. Her nose began to bleed as she strained to push the energy from her and into the body of the dead mouse. _

_ And then, with a feeling of release like coming up for air after holding her breath in the bathtub, the energy left her and rushed into the little creature. She opened her eyes and looked down. The gray mouse was slowly blinking its way back to life, whiskers twitching and tickling her fingers. _

_ She had never been so proud of herself in her entire life. _

_ "Congratulations, little mouse," she whispered to it, before placing it on the ground and sending it off to freedom. _

_ Heart pounding in excitement, she reached into a third crate and collected two more mice. She shoved them in the pockets of her dress and took off at a sprint. She had to show Katerina and the Mikaelsons; they would be so impressed._

* * *

"Alright, if anybody wants to back out, I'll understand." Stefan looked around the room at the company assembled in the boarding house.

Jeremy and Alaric looked determined, Bonnie conflicted, and Caroline slightly nervous. Sofia was grinning.

"Yeah, cold feet, speak now. I don't want this going wrong if somebody chickens out," Damon spoke up, challenging each person in turn with a pointed look from his ice blue eyes. "Soph, wipe that smirk off your face. It's bad form to look so murder happy."

"I can't help it," Sofia responded. She was just so excited. Katerina was going to die. _Finally. _

Damon frowned slightly as he raised his eyebrows, his expression telling her that he didn't blame her. "Caroline?" he zeroed in on the blonde. "Not getting second thoughts?"

Sofia shifted closer to the taller girl, raising her chin slightly and defending her new friend. "She's not."

Caroline gave Sofia a grateful nod. "She killed me. Fair's fair," she told Damon confidently. "As long as there are no werewolves running around."

"Oh I took care of Mason." Damon waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"As long as Tyler doesn't kill anyone he won't turn," Jeremy reminded them all.

Sofia glanced at the moonstone clutched in Bonnie's hand. She really needed to figure out how to steal that thing before it got too late. "Don't rule that out," she spoke up, knowing all too well that Katerina likely had plans for Tyler Lockwood. But with Mason dead, having another werewolf in Mystic Falls was exactly what she needed.

"You're being paranoid," Damon dismissed her.

"I'm being smart."

But everyone ignored her. Fools, underestimating Katerina like that.

"What about you Bonnie, you in?" Damon asked the witch, finally getting to the obvious weak link of the group.

_Bonnie needs to learn how to be a little more ruthless. She won't survive long in this world if she doesn't, _Sofia thought, taking in the deeply conflicted expression on the girl's face. Sofia knew all too well what happened to witches that got caught in the midst of vampire affairs.

"No one gets hurt," Bonnie demanded.

Damon's answering smile was positively shark-like. "Except Katherine."

* * *

Sofia stood in front of the long mirror in the hall at Matt's, double-checking her appearance. Her wildly curly hair was unbound for once in a caramel and gold mane that stood out nicely against her wine-colored dress. It had been a while since she'd gotten so dressed up. It was nice to feel beautiful again, even if the one person she wanted to see her wasn't there.

"Well don't you clean up nicely," she observed as Matt left the bathroom, straightening his cuffs in the fidgety way of someone not comfortable in a suit.

Matt smiled gratefully before taking in her appearance. "I'm not the only one. I like the red."

Sofia smiled softly at the compliment. "Thanks. I was in the mood to make a statement."

She handed him his mask—a more masculine match to her shimmery gold one.

"Shall we?" Matt offered her his arm after securing his mask. "Don't want to be late."

She took his arm. This would be a night to remember. "We shall."

* * *

The Lockwood mansion was transformed. The air pulsed with energy, and if Sofia closed her eyes, she could almost believe that the hum under her skin was magic—and not the predatory rush that came from slipping unnoticed through a crowd of prey.

When the time came to follow Jeremy and Bonnie upstairs to prepare the room for trapping Katherine, she went with great reluctance. Bonnie and Jeremy went into the room immediately, pulling out the grimoire and hiding weapons. Sofia waited outside, watching to see if they had been followed. When she was satisfied that they were alone, she slipped into the sitting room and shut the doors.

"Can you do all the stuff that's in there?" Jeremy asked Bonnie, eyeing her grimoire with curiosity.

Sofia had flipped through the Bennett grimoire that morning, and she had to admit that she was impressed. The Bennett line had certainly earned their prestige, though their spells lacked the flair of the Old World and relied too heavily on incantations for her taste. Her mother had always refused to use incantations in her spell work unless she was attempting something ritual based for which it was required.

"I mean, it takes practice. I've worked on some small spells, spells that only do good," Bonnie answered, looking conflicted. "I don't want to know too much. I don't particularly enjoy any of this, in case you haven't noticed."

Sofia felt a sudden rush of fury and disappointment. The witch didn't even deserve her powers if she was just going to take them for granted. Bonnie Bennett had the potential to be so powerful, and she was squandering it. What Sofia wouldn't give to be able to practice magic again… She had read things, heard whispers that claimed there might be a way. But it would come at the cost of something very dear to her. _No, _Sofia scolded herself. _You made your choice. Some things are more important than magic. _

"Yeah, but you're 100% witch," Jeremy said with enthusiasm, scooting close to the Bennett witch on the couch. "That is so cool."

Bonnie shook her head. "It's anything but cool. Did your family journals tell you what happened to Emily? Or what about my grams?" She looked pointedly over to Sofia hovering in the corner.** "**It never ends well for people like me."

"If you really feel that way, why are you even helping us?" Sofia interjected, not understanding the witch's motivations.

"Because I don't want anyone else to get hurt, and I don't know how to stay out of it."

Something in her softened at that, and for a moment, she saw herself as she once was: just a girl, trying to help the people she loved.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but no one else is going to tell you: they're going to use you. You'll be used for your powers until you've got nothing left to give or you become collateral damage," Sofia warned, but instead of fear, Bonnie looked resigned. "But you already know that. You're a good friend, Bonnie Bennett. They're all lucky to have you."

* * *

_**We've got a problem **_

_** 2**__**nd**__** floor guest room. East wing **_

The two texts from Damon came in simultaneously, and Sofia groaned. What could possibly have gone wrong already?

She was waiting outside the sitting room while Bonnie did her spell, so she knocked on the door and told them she was leaving before heading off down the hall.

"What's going on?" Sofia asked, slipping into the room and shutting the door quietly behind her.

The Salvatore brothers were glaring at each other, the atmosphere tense.

"My baby bro is getting cold feet," Damon answered, not taking his eyes off Stefan.

"She just killed someone!" Stefan exclaimed, turning to Sofia, his eyes wild. "An innocent girl, right in front of me."

Sofia wanted to laugh. What did they expect? "Then she was collateral damage."

"That's what I said!" Damon tossed his hands in the air, frustrated by his brother's hesitation.

"Listen to the two of you! You're so hell-bent on revenge that you don't even care who else gets hurt."

Stefan looked disgusted with the both of them. Sofia didn't care—or at least she told herself she shouldn't.

"Listen to me, Stefan," Damon said, lowering his voice and grasping Stefan's shoulders. "Don't do this now. This woman ruined our lives, she _destroyed _us. Tonight it ends. We can do it together. I got your back."

Sofia sighed in relief as Stefan gave a reluctant nod.

"Okay guys," she interrupted their bonding moment. "I'm glad we're all on the same page, but we need to get this show on the road. The longer we wait, the more time Katherine has to figure out our plan. Damon," she ordered. "Text Jeremy.

"Yes, ma'm." Damon smirked.

"So what now?" Sofia asked, once Damon had contacted the Gilbert boy. She could barely sit still; she was so wired.

"Now we wait," Stefan murmured as he looked out the window.

* * *

Sofia stood in the alcove of the sitting room that they had prepared for Katerina, her back pressed tightly against the wall so that she could stay out of sight until the right moment. Damon was in the closet, and Stefan was waiting to greet their foe and take her off her guard.

She could hear voices coming from the stairwell as Caroline played her part to perfect. The baby vampire deserved an award for her performance.

"Stefan." She heard Katerina's seductive purr.

It was time. She had waited a long time for this.

"Hello Katherine," Stefan said smoothly, and Sofia heard the click of the doppelganger's heels on the floor as the stepped over the threshold and into the room.

"Goodbye Katherine," Caroline said sweetly, followed by quick tapping as she scurried of downstairs once more.

"You don't really think that you can kill me with that, now do you?" Katerina said as she stepped further into the room. Sofia could just see a bit of her hip and her elbow; if the other woman turned around, her hiding place would be revealed.

"No," Stefan paused, and Sofia heard the click of the closet door. "But he can."

Sofia whipped around the corner just in time to see Damon shoot a stake right into Katerina's back. The shot was off, however, and missed her heart. Seeing her chance, Sofia rushed forward, stake raised high.

But Katerina was as quick as ever, and she expertly deflected the blow so the wooden point sunk into her arm instead.

"You!" the brunette snarled at seeing the face of her newest attack. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Sofia smirked. "Just exacting some long awaited revenge."

She quickly sidestepped out of the way as Stefan lunged for Katerina, but the older vampire shoved him backward into the wall. Damon sped in while her back was turned, but a backhanded blow from her arm sent him flying through the air and crashing into a row of chairs.

Sofia launched herself at Katerina, hoping to take her by surprise, but she had left her right side open, and the older vampire stole the opportunity to disarm her. Katerina pulled Sofia around so they were back-to-chest.

Sofia screamed as Katerina shoved one of her hands into her side and up under her rips to wrap around her heart. One wrong move, and she would be dead.

Katerina trained her gaze on the Salvatores. "Stop, or she's dead."

For one agonizing moment, no one moved. And then, finally, Stefan and Damon let their stakes clatter to the ground. Sofia shouldn't have been so offended by the reluctance she saw in their eyes, considering that she was planning to betray them, but it still hurt.

"You're pretty strong, Sofia," Katerina cooed into her ear. "And those brothers trained you well, but you're still not a match for me. Speaking of, do they know you're here? You haven't been running around off your leash in quite a while."

"What is she talking about, Sophie?" Damon asked.

"Ex-boyfriend crap," Sofia panted desperately through the pain. She could not give herself away—not now. "Ignore her."

"Oh so he's your ex now?" Katerina cackled. "He finally decided to stop slumming it with some has-been witch?"

That was it.

"Shut UP!" Sofia snarled, twisting her head around until she was level with the other woman's shoulder and sinking her fangs into the soft flesh.

Katerina shrieked in pain, throwing Sofia to the floor. Stefan took the moment and launched himself across the room, maneuvering his arms to lock Katerina into place on top of him as they crashed to the ground. Damon was on them in a second, stake poised above the bitch's heart.

"Stop!" a frantic voice called from the doorway. Jeremy. "You're hurting Elena. Everything you're doing to her is hurting Elena."

Katerina chuckled. "You think you're the only ones with a witch on your side? Wrong. And something tells me that my witch is better than your witch." She smirked, getting to feet before throwing a glance at Sofia. "Oh, not you, sweetling, I'm talking about their _live _witch." She punctuated her statement by snatching the stake out of Damon's hand.

"Jeremy, go check on Elena and make sure she's ok," Stefan ordered, turning to the teen still hovering in the doorway. "Go."

"Let's all make sure poor Elena's ok," Katerina scoffed before dragging the sharp point across her palm. Dancing out of the brothers' reach, she aimed it at her stomach next. "This is _really _gonna hurt."

"Wait!" Damon pleaded, and the woman smiled in satisfaction.

The doppelganger settled herself on the sofa and crossed her long legs. "So how about that moonstone?"

Her provocative statement was met with silence. Damon dejectedly made his way over to the doorway, bracing a hand against the invisible barrier. Sofia retreated to a corner, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. If Katerina chose to reveal what she knew about Sofia's past—and what she could infer about her intentions based on that knowledge—Sofia would very quickly find herself in hot water. Or with a stake in her heart.

"The three of us, just like old times," Katerina mused, eyeing the Salvatores with her unnerving gaze. "The brother who loved me too much, and the brother who loved me not enough."

"And the evil slut vampire who only loved herself," Damon snapped.

"And you, Sofia, don't think I've forgotten about you," she called out, causing Sofia to tense, bracing for some kind of reveal. But it never came. "What happened to you, Damon? You used to be so sweet and polite."

"Oh that Damon died a long time ago."

"Good. He was a bore."

"Oh, why don't you two stop antagonizing each other," Stefan finally spoke, the brooding expression on his face fading into one of agitation.

Katerina pursed her lips. "Where's the moonstone."

"What do you want with it?" Stefan needled.

Katerina looked to Sofia and raised an eyebrow, her silent question pinning the younger vampire with terror: _Should we tell them? _But Katerina didn't give her secrets up, and Sofia relaxed. "Does Elena enjoy having both of you worship at her altar?"

Stefan shook his head. "That was really desperate, Katherine. Don't you think that we can see right through you?"

"Apparently not." Her eyes flicked to Sofia again. "And really, Stefan, doesn't it bother you that Damon's in love with your girlfriend?"

"Stop it."

"Or what? You'll hurt me?" she taunted, rising from the couch with a seductive sway of her hips. "Come on Stefan. Everything that I feel, Elena feels, so go ahead. Or better yet, kiss me Damon. She'll feel that too."

Sofia tuned them out as the three former lovers continued to taunt each other. That is, until something Katerina was saying caught her ear.

"…he's not the only wolf in town."

_Tyler. Of course. _Not that Sofia minded if the Lockwood boy triggered his curse. But she had to at least appear to care. "What did you do, Katherine?"

The other woman smiled. "Put it this way, I hope you weren't too fond of your new roommate."

_No. _Matt was her _friend. _**"**Caroline!" Sofia yelled, hoping her voice would reach the baby vampire's sensitive hearing. "Find Matt and Tyler! He's going to—"

Her frantic yell was shut off as Katerina flashed to her and drove the stake into her stomach. "Shut up."

Stefan rushed to her side, helping her remove the foreign object.

Damon snarled, slamming a fist against the barrier. "Dammit! Where's that witch?"

"We could play charades," the doppelganger offered.

"Go to hell, Katerina," Sofia snapped.

"See you there."

"You bargained the moonstone," Stefan interrupted the bickering females. "When you struck the deal with George Lockwood, to help you fake your death, you told me that you gave George something that he needed. It was the moonstone, wasn't it?"

"Good for you, Stefan. Two plus two. And it would have worked, except that people found out I wasn't really in the tomb." She glared at Damon.** "**Thanks to you, by the way. Have I mentioned how inconvenient your obsession with me has been?"

"Hm. You and me both, honey," Damon replied, taking a sip of his scotch.

"Why do you need it back? What were you doing with it in the first place?" Stefan pressed, but then his features relaxed in sudden understanding. "Unless it wasn't yours to begin with. In 1864, you faked your death. Who are you running from, Katherine?"

"Well, this bitch, for one," Katerina replied, waving her hand in Sofia's direction.

"God you are insufferable," Damon moaned.

Katherine made her way over to the window, and when she went to look wistfully over the glowing tent down on the lawn, Damon splashed the remaining liquor in his glass in her face, taking her by surprise enough to pin her to the wall, another stake raised in his hand.

"No, Damon don't," Stefan reminded.

"Yes Damon, please," Katerina pouted.

"The second the spell's lifted, I'm gonna drive this stake right through your heart," the older Salvatore growled.

"God, you're hot. When did you get so hot?" Katerina said, looking him up and down. She must have caught Sofia's look of disgust because she spoke to her next. "Don't look so disgusted, sweetling. Are you really going to tell me you didn't dip into the goods at any point? I can't believe that you would remain faithful with this piece of meat laying around."

Sofia bristled, biting her tongue to stay silent. How _dare _that bitch insinuate such a thing about her? She'd never been anything but faithful, and her present actions (even if they were disloyal to the Mystic Falls gang) only served to prove that.

"Katherine," someone spoke from the door. It was an unfamiliar woman, and she was holding up the moonstone. "The spell on this room has been broken. You're free to leave."

"Thank god," Katerina sighed, shoving Damon away from her and preparing to leave.

'When I hand this over, my debt to you is over," said the witch.

"Done," the doppelgänger nodded.

"I owe you nothing."

"Done." She rolled her eyes. "I said give it."

"I wouldn't do that," Sofia interjected desperately. The last thing she needed was for Katerina to be in possession of the moonstone. That would set back her plans considerably.

But of course, no one listened to her.

Moments after the moonstone came to rest in Katerina's palm, the vampire began to choke, collapsing to the ground as she gasped for breath. It only took one glance at the witch's face to see that it was her doing.

"You should have told me another witch was involved," the woman spoke to the struggling woman at her feet. "She's a Bennett witch, Katherine, but I'm sure you knew that."

Seconds later, Katerina was still, temporarily dead, and no longer a threat.

After the witch departed, Sofia turned to the younger Salvatore. "Stefan, why don't you go find Elena? Damon and I will deal with this." He departed in a rush, and Sofia turned to Damon who was staring down at his ex-lover with an inscrutable expression. "So what do we do to her?"

"Something more satisfying than killing her, I think."

* * *

_England – Late December, 1492_

_ Sofia awoke to the feeling of a hand over her mouth. She thrashed against her blankets, disoriented from sleep and blinded by darkness. _

_ "Calm down, sweetling." _

_ Sofia stopped struggling. It was only Katerina. _

_ "What is happening?" Sofia whispered once the other girl had removed her hand. _

_ "I have a surprise for you," she replied excitedly, and began to pull Sofia out of bed. "Hurry, we must go quickly." _

_ Sofia nodded, clambering out of bed and taking the other girl's hand. _

_ "We must be very quiet. Can you be as quiet as those mice you catch?" Katerina asked, her face serious. _

_ "I'll be as quiet as the dead ones," Sofia promised. _

_The doppelgänger grinned and led her out into the hall. They came to a door Sofia knew well—it was where her mother worked, preparing for the ritual and pouring over old grimoires. Sofia had been ordered to never enter. _

"_I cannot go in there," Sofia hissed, tugging on Katerina's hand. _

"_Don't worry, your mother is asleep," the other girl promised. "We just need to grab something." _

_Sofia didn't want to break her mother's rule, but Katerina was her only friend, and she didn't want to ruin that. Reluctantly, she nodded. _

_Katerina was wrong—her mother was still awake, bent over a desk with her back to the door. But Sofia didn't have a chance to process that fact or worry about how much trouble they would be in because Katerina yanked her inside and shut the door behind them. _

"_Wha-girls?" Sofia's mother turned around, her soft brown eyes wide._

_And then Sofia felt something cold and sharp against her neck as one of Katerina's arms locked across her chest, holding her in place. _

"_No!" Mariona cried, reaching for her daughter. _

"_Don't come any closer," Katerina hissed. _

_Sofia's heart was pounding. What was going on? Was that a knife on her neck? This could not be the surprise Katerina had promised. _

"_What do you want?" the older witch asked, her voice shaking. _

"_I want you to give me the moonstone."_

"_I can't."_

_Sofia whimpered as the knife pressed harder into her neck. She felt a drop of something warm drip down to meet the neckline of her nightdress. _

"_Yes you can, or I will slit your daughter's throat." _

"_P-please," Sofia stammered. She didn't _understand.

_Mariona stood very still, her eyes locked on the knife. "Fine," she said, finally, and went over to a small wooden box on the desk. She waved a hand over the lid, lifting the enchantment sealing it in, and removed the stone. _

_Sofia stared at it in wonder. All this for some ugly rock? _

"_Slide it across the table," Katerina ordered, nodding her chin at the long worktable between them. _

_Mariona did as she asked. Sophia slumped to the ground in relief the second she felt the blade leave her neck. _

_And then, with a howl of fury, Mariona shoved her hands out, a blast of magic sending Katerina crashing to the floor. Sofia scrambled out of the way as her mother descended on the doppelganger, trying to wrestle the knife from her grip. _

_But Katerina was young and strong and driven by self-preservation. She flipped the witch onto her back and pressed the knife to her throat. _

"_You shouldn't have done that," she hissed, pressing the blade deeper. _

_Mariona's eye's narrowed, and the handle of the blade burst into flames in Katerina's hand, causing her to drop it with a screech of pain. _

_It happened so fast. _

_With a growl of rage, Katerina lunged, and with a terrible ripping noise, sunk her blunt human teeth into Mariona's throat. _

"_No!" Sofia screamed, flinging herself at Katerina. "Please, mama! No!" _

_She pulled at the other girl's hair and pounded on her back, but she was only a child, and Katerina almost a grown woman. It was like beating herself against stone. _

"_Get _off!" _Katerina snarled, letting Mariona drop to the ground and pushing Sofia away. _

_Sofia's eyes widened in horror at the image before her. Katerina's mouth and chin were red, her mother's blood as it pooled on the ground was red. She couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't process what she had seen. _

_Katerina lifted the moonstone from the table and slipped it into the folds of her gown. "I'm sorry sweetling, but she had to die." _

"_W-why?" Sofia whimpered, her tongue stumbling over the words. It was as if her whole body had gone numb and forgotten how to work. _

"_I couldn't have her tracking me," the doppelgänger replied, moving to the door. "Oh, and Sofia? If you call for help anytime in the next hour, I will come back and kill you too."_

* * *

Sofia leaned against the trunk of an old pine near the tomb, head tilted up to observe the broken view of the stars that peeked through the branches. _They_ were on her mind tonight—a family that had walked through the same woods and watched the same stars so many years ago. This was all because of them. The bloodstains on her dress, Katerina screaming at Damon as he sealed her inside the tomb, the devastating emptiness that sat as a rotten weight in her gut—it all lead back to them.

Vampires. What sorry lives they lead. And to what end? Eternity? It was an unfathomable concept, and yet so many of them would live to see it. She wondered if she'd make it to the shores of perpetuity—would she find herself alone? Triumphant at the end of a never-ending fight and wasted by her loneliness.

She refused. That would not be her fate. She was making sure of it.

"Well, she's all shut in," Damon's voice sliced through the stillness as he climbed the stone step to ground level.

There was something tired in the set of his shoulders. He looked drained.

"Feel better?" she asked, softly.

He shrugged, evading her question. "Shall we head back?"

Sofia looked to the dark pit that lead down to the tomb. "I'm actually going to stay and gloat for a bit."

Damon smirked knowingly. "Suit yourself. Just be sure to close the doggie door when you're done."

He nodded goodbye, and with a rush of air, she found herself alone.

Perhaps it was petty and cowardly to desire to face Katerina from the other side of a sealing spell, but she had been robbed of her revenge that night. And yet, she did not feel disappointment. Seeing Katerina had brought back so many memories, and instead of them fueling her vengeance, they left her weary. She needed to remind herself to feel angry. The vestiges of her fury were the last fumes keeping her going.

"Well, well, well," Katerina sing-songed as Sofia pulled the stone door open. "You are far more conniving than I gave you credit for."

"Shouldn't be too surprising, you were one of my early childhood role models, after all." Sofia looked the other vampire up and down. Even in defeat, she still oozed confidence and power. Sofia envied her. "Why didn't you give me away?"

Katerina leaned against the side of the tomb, tilting her head to the side as if she were considering whether to respond.

"Well if I had told them why you were really here—to get the moonstone, get the doppelganger, and kill me before I could steal your glory—then there was always the possibility that they would call Klaus themselves just to have him kill me."

No one could say that Katerina didn't know how to read people. Thankfully, the rest of the Mystic Falls gang was neither as informed nor astute as the woman before her.

"You're probably right. They're not the smartest bunch."

The two shared a smirk. Her statement was as humorous as it was accurate.

"Well, when you've spent 500 years running with the Originals, I suppose anyone else is just a bit unimpressive," the doppelgänger baited.

Sofia refused to bite.

"Not you, Katerina. You impressed me tonight."

"I sense a 'but' coming."

Sofia smiled. It was a triumphant expression, worthy of a predator. "But now everything's even better than I thought it would be. I'm part of the doppelgänger's circle, I've located the moonstone, thanks to you I've got a werewolf, and now, I even have you as the cherry on top."

A muscle above Katerina's eye twitched. "What are you bargaining for, anyway?" she asked. "Your freedom or someone else's? I couldn't help but notice that your boyfriend doesn't seem to be by your side."

"Fiancé, actually."

_Damn. _She fell for the bait. Katerina was always good to remind her of how much she had to learn.

"Congratulations. And yet you never made it down the aisle."

Sofia was momentarily overwhelmed by the choking sensation of rage mixed with sorrow.

"Circumstances intervened," she said curtly. "Enough chit chat, Katerina. Now stay here and play nice because I need to put in a call to someone who's going to be very pleased to see you."

Watching how her words struck fear in the other vampire's heart, Sofia pulled out her phone and dialed a number she had memorized a year earlier when she awoke in a basement in Germany.

"No! Sofia, sweetling, please," Katerina pleaded, making no effort to mask her terror. "You don't have to do this! He'll never let you leave! You're making a mistake!"

Sophia held up a finger, the universal symbol for _shut your trap, you traitorous bitch. _"Yes, hello. This is Sofia Valentí," she spoke into the phone, never breaking her eye contact with Katerina. "I have a message for Klaus."

* * *

**Please let me know what you think. What are you liking? Not liking? Something you want to know more about? Just leave a _review! _**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Sorry this took me forever to write. It's kind of a beast. Easily twice as long as I intended. Oops._**

* * *

_England – Late December, 1492_

_ "Mariona!" Klaus' voice echoed from the hallway. Sofia couldn't move; she just knelt on the ground, her mother's blood staining her white nightdress. _

_ The door burst open. "The doppelganger has—" he paused, presumably taking in the scene before him. _

_ "She's dead," Sofia whispered, her eyes trained on his shoes. _

_ "The doppelganger?" Klaus asked, fury darkening his voice. _

_ "No," Sofia looked up, only to find is eyes cold. "My mother."_

_ The two stared at each other in silence for a moment. Where was the kind, charming man that taught her to ride a horse and applauded whenever she mastered a new spell? She didn't know what she needed, but he certainly wasn't giving it to her. _

_ "Niklaus, what is—" Elijah rushed into the room, his hair slightly askew. "Is she…?" _

_ "Dead?" Klaus replied, expressionless. "Yes, unfortunately."_

_ Elijah shook his head, his face somber. "Sofia, darling, come here," he beckoned, holding out a hand. _

_ Sofia practically launched herself at him, desperate for just a sliver of his kindness. Elijah wrapped his arm around her, tucking her head into his side protectively. She thought she ought to be crying or screaming or _something, _but she couldn't, so she just buried her face in the velvet of his doublet and listened. _

_ "Elijah now is not the time for coddling. I need the baby witch to perform a locator spell." _

_ Elijah's arm tightened around her. "Niklaus, her mother has just died. She is a _child. _Surely you can track Katerina some other way."_

_ "And if the child wants to live, she will do the spell. I know that she's capable."_

_ "I must insist—"_

_ "I'll do it," Sofia pulled away from Elijah slightly and spoke, her voice coming out strangled. "I want to find her."_

_ "Are you sure, Sofia?" Elijah asked, placing his hands on her shoulders and bending to look her in the eyes. _

"_She doesn't exactly have a choice," Klaus interrupted, already spreading out a map on the worktable. "Come, little witch, time is of the essence."_

_Sofia nodded, forcing herself not to look down to where her mother's body still lay on the ground. If she didn't look, she could just pretend it had never happened._

"_I need something of hers," she said._

_Klaus took a handkerchief from his pocket and bent down to dip it in the blood on the ground. "The blood of her most recent victim should do, I think."_

_Sofia's hands began to shake, and her vision went dark for a moment. So much for pretending. She took the handkerchief and twisted it, letting the blood drip onto the map._

_She closed her eyes and held her hands out in front of her, palms down. She focused as hard as she could, searching for Katerina, but the familiar rush of a spell in progress never came._

"_I—I can't focus," she mumbled. Locator spells were complicated in concept, far beyond her area of expertise to perform without an incantation._

"_You may speak the spell, Sofia. It's alright," Elijah encouraged, wary of his brother's increasing agitation._

_Sofia nodded, disappointed in herself. Her mother would be disappointed. "Phasmatos tribum, nas ex veras," her small voice rang clear in the silent room._

_She felt the power welling within her, felt the progression of the spell, but then it just stopped. It was as if she had hit a wall, but somehow she knew with absolute certainty that there would be nothing to find._

"_It's not working."_

"_Why!" Klaus slammed his hands down on the table, and Sofia jumped. "Why isn't it working?"_

"_It will not work because she is dead."_

_Behind her, Elijah took in a sharp breath._

"_You lie," Klaus hissed._

"_I'm not lying!" Sofia defended herself. "The spell worked, but there's nothing to find because she's dead!"_

"_Do it again!"_

"_But she's—"_

"_I said do…it…again."_

_Sofia nodded meekly and bent her head over the map. "Phastmatos tribum, nas ex viras."_

_The spell was working, but it was doing more than that—it was succeeding. But that was impossible. Katerina was dead; Sofia was sure of it. But the witch and the two vampires watched in awe as the blood began to trickle slowly across the map, finally stopping to reveal Katerina's location._

"_I thought you said she was dead," Elijah said from behind her, his voice low._

"_She was, I'm sure she was," Sofia retorted. And then she realized what must have happened—the only explanation. "She's not alive. She's a vampire."_

_With a roar, Klaus swept the map and bloody handkerchief from the table. "I want her found. I will not believe it until I see it with my own eyes."_

"_Wait, brother," Elijah called before Klaus stormed from the room. "What do you plan to do with Sofia?"_

"_The girl? Do with her what you like, Elijah. I do not care."_

_And then Sofia and Elijah were left alone, Mariona's body still cooling on the floor._

"_Come, Sofia," Elijah said. "Let us go."_

_But Sofia couldn't move. She couldn't turn around to where her mother lay on the ground, her body blocking the path to the door. It was as if someone had bolted her feet to the floor. She could not move._

"_I—I can't."_

_But Elijah seemed to understand, because he swept her up into his arms, one arm cradling her back and the other under her knees. She squeezed her eyes shut tight and buried her face into his shoulder._

"_Is Klaus mad at me because I let her get away?" Sofia asked as her carried her through the silent halls of the castle._

"_No, he is not angry with you," Elijah reassured her. "It was not your fault."_

"_I hope he finds her," she said, her voice growing in strength. "I hope he punishes her."_

"_Sofia, vengeance will not achieve—"_

_But she interrupted him. "She killed my mother. She said she was my friend, and she betrayed me. She deserves to be found."_

* * *

"What did you get from Alaric?" Stefan asked as he slid into the passenger seat beside his brother.

"Enough goodies to take out an army," Damon replied as he gunned it out of the high school parking lot. "It's in the back."

Stefan reached into the back seat to pull forward a duffle bag filled with an assortment of Alaric's favorite vampire hunting weapons. The vervain grenades certainly looked promising.

"Where are we going?" Damon asked as they headed out of town.

Stefan pulled out his phone with the address already plugged in and mapping their route. "Modern technology is infinitely helpful."

Damon snorted. "Yeah, tell me that when we get Elena back from whoever decided it would be a good idea to kidnap her."

Stefan wasn't sure how to feel about his brother's frantic determination to retrieve _his _girlfriend. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Damon cared about Elena a lot more than he probably should, but Stefan just wasn't sure what to _do _about it. He didn't know how far he could push his brother before he snapped.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked, realizing Damon had taken out his phone and was scrolling through his contacts.

"Calling Sophie—telling her to follow us as backup," Damon replied, putting the phone up to his ear.

Stefan snatched the phone away and ended the call. "I actually wanted to talk to you about that."

Speaking of pushing his brother…he was about to enter very dangerous conversational territory.

"Hey! Give me that!" Damon demanded, attempting to reach for his phone while keeping one hand on the wheel, but Stefan kept it out of his reach.

"I don't think we should be trusting Sophie so much."

"What? Why?"

Stefan took a deep breath, thinking through his next words carefully. "Some of the things Katherine said last night at the Masquerade made me nervous. How much do you really know about her past, Damon?"

"She's over five hundred years old. There's lots of things I don't know," Damon replied condescendingly.

"I just think Sophie's hiding something—and not just something irrelevant from her very long history. Something important," Stefan pressed. It was a delicate issue; he didn't have any proof, but he just had a feeling that Sophie had an agenda of her own, or at least knew more than she was letting on. Possibly both. The only problem was, Damon didn't place much stock in feelings.

"Stef, you're being paranoid."

"Just…" Stefan sighed. "Just trust me on this—for Elena's sake."

It was a nasty card to play, manipulating Damon's feelings for Elena, but if it did the job…

"Fine," Damon acquiesced. "Today, I will not call her. And then you can interrogate her tomorrow to prove to yourself that she's got nothing to hide."

Stefan nodded. That was the best he was going to get.

* * *

Sofia pulled into the high school parking lot on Monday, silently cursing teenagers everywhere—and conveniently forgetting that she physically was one. High school was a circle of Hell that Dante had clearly forgotten to mention. The things she did for love, _really. _

As she got out of the car, straightening her dress—black with a buttoned bodice and full skirt, one of her favorites—in the process, she spotted Elena and Caroline a few cars down, talking in front of the blonde's SUV.

Sofia plastered on a nice, friendly expression. _Time to go play trustworthy, _she told herself as she made her way over to the girls.

"Hey, guys," she greeted them with a smile.

Interestingly enough, they both jumped at her presence and looked to her with guilty expressions.

"Ok," she smirked conspiratorially. "What did you do?"

"We haven't done anything!" Caroline said, quick to defend herself, but upon seeing that Sofia didn't believe her, she admitted, "…yet."

"Please don't tell Damon and Stefan," Elena pleaded.

"Hey, I don't even know what you guys are talking about," Sofia said, raising her hands in surrender before stepping closer to them and lowering her voice. "But seriously, what are you planning?"

The two girls exchanged nervous glances before nodding, obviously having decided that she could be trusted. Foolish.

"I'm going to talk to Katherine. I need to get answers, especially after what happened after the masquerade," said Elena.

Sofia's eyebrows pinched in confusion and anxiety. If Elena went and talked to Katerina alone, the vampire doppelganger would almost certainly spill Sofia's secrets and her plan, jeopardizing everything—not to mention likely endangering her life, once the Salvatores found out. And confusion… "Wait, what happened after the masquerade?" she asked.

"Nobody told you?" Elena looked genuinely confused. "I was kidnapped."

"Excuse me? Why? By who?" It was far too quick for Klaus to have sent some of his henchmen after her, but she didn't understand who else would have any motivation to capture Elena Gilbert. After all, despite her kind nature, the girl was dull as dishwater.

"These two vampires—Rose and Trevor—kidnapped me for this guy, Elijah."

Sofia must have forgotten to school her features, because Caroline asked, "Wait, do you know who Elijah is?"

"I know of him," Sofia replied quickly. "But I don't understand why he would have you kidnapped."

"I think it had to do with the sun and the moon curse, but we didn't really get a chance to discuss it. Damon killed him," Elena supplied.

"That's impossible," Sofia immediately replied.

"Apparently not. I saw it with my own eyes."

"Oh," Sofia replied lamely. Of course, no one else knew that Elijah was an Original, and therefore could not be killed. "He's supposed to be really old. I'm just surprised Damon got the jump on him.  
Elena shrugged. "He had some help from some of Alaric's weapons."

Sofia nodded in understanding, but she was already absent from the conversation. She had a few hours, tops until her cover was completely blown—not to mention that Elijah was in town, which didn't bode well for her plans to make a deal with Klaus. Everything had gone from perfectly planned to spiraling out of control in the span of a single conversation. She had to get out of there before everything went to hell.

"Well, I'm glad you're safe, Elena," she said sincerely—just not for the reasons the other girls would assume. "I should head inside. Be careful with Katherine."

"I will."

"Sofia!" Caroline's voice called after her as she sped away. "Don't tell anyone, ok?"

"I promise!" Sofia called, her fake smile starting to hurt.

She made her way into the school and hid inside a bathroom until the bell rang before running back to her car as fast as she could.

It was time to skip town for a while before somebody decided to kill her.

* * *

In the end, Sofia decided not to leave town after all. She needed to keep an eye on both doppelgangers, Tyler, and the moonstone. She'd already left a message for Klaus, and if he turned up in town to find one or more of the ingredients missing he would be furious.  
So in an effort to protect the ingredients, she was doing something she absolutely hated—camping. After talking to Elena and Caroline in the school parking lot, she'd rushed back to Matt's to pack a bag, stolen the tent he never used from the garage, and disappeared into the woods. She wasn't sure if anyone would be desperate enough to get Bonnie to use a locator spell to find her, but she moved campsites twice a day just in case.

The biggest issue—not that she considered it a problem, really—was that living out of a tent made it impossible to keep a supply of blood bags. So she was back to preying on the citizens, and "snatch eat erase" was definitely more enjoyable than blood that carried an aftertaste of plastic. Yes, hunting while trying to avoid the large number of people that knew she was a traitor was time-consuming, but it wasn't so bad. It almost made the camping worth it.

So when she wasn't camping or hunting, she was trailing the members of Elena's little gang from the shadows. Since her "disappearance" two new witches had come to town. She was pretty sure they were friends of Elijah's, but she hadn't approached them yet because she wasn't sure if they were trustworthy. She would have sought the Original out himself, but she wasn't sure where to look for him, as he was keeping a low profile.

It was risky because they were the most likely to notice, but she followed the Salvatore brothers the most. She knew they had a tendency to plan things behind Elena's back—especially Damon—so if something was going to go down, following them would be the quickest way to find out about it.  
So she eventually found herself trailing Stefan and Damon to the tomb. It was a little ridiculous, how many visitors Katerina was getting, considering she was basically in a magical prison.

Sofia watched the brothers descend into the tomb before creeping close so she could listen to their conversation.

The Salvatores asked Katerina for the moonstone, taking turns taunting her in that way that just reeked of unresolved sexual tension. From their conversation, as they left the tomb, she surmised that they wanted the moonstone do de-spell it. It was laughable that they thought little Bonnie Bennett could break Esther's spell.

She knew they would return soon to lift the sealing spell, so she sank deeper into the trees to wait.  
It was hours before Jeremy arrived, glancing nervously over each shoulder before hurrying down into the tomb. What was that about? But she couldn't go closer to listen; Stefan and Damon could return at any time.

Not a half hour later, the Salvatore brothers and Bonnie came trekking through the trees, armed with a grimoire and determined expressions. Stefan and Bonnie descended into the tomb first, but before he could follow, Damon's phone started to ring.

"Not a good time, Rose," he said into the phone as he answered it, pausing at the top of the steps. "…What did you do?"

His expression darkened considerably. _Interesting._

"I'm on my way," he growled. "I swear if anything happens—" and then he was speeding off out of the woods and in the direction or the road.

Sofia didn't take a single second to deliberate before trailing after him.

* * *

Sofia followed Damon to Richmond where he parked in the garage for Slater's apartment building. She'd only been to the place once before, but she remembered it well. She parked around the block before sneaking into the garage, removing her shoes to keep her steps silent and sticking to the shadows.

There was no sign of Damon, but she did see Elena's car. _What on Earth is the doppelganger doing here? _she thought as she settled into a shadowy corner beside a blue SUV to wait for any more activity.

She didn't have to wait long. Not fifteen minutes later, three men—humans—exited a car that had just pulled in and stalked toward the elevator. It was obvious in the way they moved that they were not residents returning home or friends dropping by for a casual visit.

A moment after the elevator doors closed, a third car pulled into the garage. It was a nondescript silver sedan with tinted windows—efficient and expensive, but unlikely to draw any eyes. The car parked, and the man that exited wore a face she would know anywhere.

Elijah turned to look right at her, his enhanced senses easily picking up her presence. His eyebrows raised in surprise.

_"Sofia?" _he mouthed.

She smiled and nodded, holding a finger to her lips before pointing it towards the ceiling.

He made to walk towards her, but she waved her hands to stop him. She held her hand up to her ear and mouthed, _"I'll call you later." _

Elijah nodded, and in a flash, he had disappeared.

She still couldn't be sure what the Original's presence meant for her plans, but she couldn't deny that she was happy to see him.

* * *

_Republic of Venice, Italy – October, 1495_

_Sofia liked their new home very much. The food was amazing, the people fascinating, and the art inspirational. Most importantly, however, was the weather. The weather was wonderful._

_Back in England, Sofia never would have enjoyed what she was doing then—lying upon her back on top of the wide, stone garden wall and enjoying the feeling of the sun on her face and the heat as it began to brown her skin._

_Sofia and the Mikaelsons fled England in the summer of 1943. Upon returning from a ride with Klaus, they had discovered the north tower ablaze. Klaus recognized it for what it was—a warning. Mikael was close. And so they packed their things in the night, the three of them—Klaus, Elijah, and Sofia—taking off on horseback to put as much distance between them and Mikael as they could.  
After almost two months of grueling travel, they arrived in the Republic of Venice where Klaus had arranged to have a large villa prepared near the border with the Duchy of Ferrara. The Mikaelsons decided that it was the perfect place to make their new home because the wars between France and the different states would make their arrival go largely unnoticed. They settled into the villa easily, their belongings—four, very suspicious coffins included—arrived a month later, and they had lived there comfortably ever since._

_It had been two years since the flight from England. Sofia's fourteenth birthday had come and gone; she was taller, and when she was feeling particularly confident, she might even say she was prettier. But she was almost a woman, and every day Sofia missed her mother keenly. Mariona had never been the warmest of mothers, commanding more respect than affection, but not a day passed that Sofia did not wish for her presence._

_It did not help that Sofia had nothing to distract her from her absence. Klaus was often absent, spending long periods in Rome, likely drinking in the vibrant culture. Elijah, though always present, didn't offer the kind of company that she yearned for. So to stave off boredom, Sofia set herself challenges. She would pick a spell and work tirelessly until she mastered it, each more complex than the last. Just last month, she had managed to cast an illusion for Elijah that made one of the sitting rooms look like the front room of the apothecary her mother had run back in Barcelona. The illusion only played with the visual sense, not holding up to touch or smell or any other sensation, but she was quite proud of herself._

_Her newest challenge, however, was showing no signs of progress. In the basement, just past the wine cellar, there was a door that she could not open. It wasn't locked—at least not in the conventional way. It was spelled shut. She had only discovered it the previous April, but she suspected the room had been sealed since shortly after their arrival, and she was almost certain that she knew what it contained. Since their arrival at the villa, two years before, she had never seen the four coffins that had arrived with their belongings from England. When she asked Klaus about it, he told her to be silent. When she asked Elijah, he told her that it was best if she concerned herself with other things. Naturally, her curiosity was peaked._

_And now, she had discovered where the coffins were kept. She had searched every other room in the villa, and only the sealed door remained. But no matter what spell she tried, she could not enter. She had offered her blood, sacrificed a rabbit she'd captured in the garden, tried blasting down the door with sheer force—but none of her efforts brought success. So Sofia found herself a girl obsessed, and with no idea how to move forward in her challenge.  
But for the first time in weeks, Sofia wasn't thinking about the sealed door. She was thinking about Rome._

_Any minute now, Klaus would call her name and tell her that it was time to depart. He had business to attend to in Rome—some financial venture with the Borgia Pope that everyone complained about—and after much begging, he had agreed to allow her to accompany him. Elijah had taken her to Venice several times, and though it was a lovely city, Rome was the crown jewel of the known world, and oh how she yearned to see it._

_"Sofia!" Klaus' voice echoed from inside. "It is time!"_

_Sofia leapt from the garden wall, straightening her rose-colored traveling gown and sprinting off in the direction of his voice. _

* * *

_Rome was everything she imagined it would be. There was something interesting happening in every square. Everywhere she turned there were men and women dressed like kings and queens, their brightly colored clothing splashed across the canvas of the city in an irreplicable masterpiece. Rome even smelled how she imagined—like food, piss, and incense. Truthfully, it was a terrible smell, and Klaus laughed heartily when she told him that she didn't even care that it was awful because she wanted to experience every aspect of the most glorious city in the world._

_As it turned out, Sofia would not be experiencing every corner of Rome. She and Klaus were to be guests in the villa of one of the cardinals. As soon as they arrived, Sofia was shown to her room and told to wait there until he collected her for a dinner that night with the pope and his family. Apparently, the pope had a daughter near her age, and the promise of a new friend dampened Sofia's annoyance._

_The room she was to stay in being one of the most lavish she had ever seen didn't hurt either. The bed was much larger than the one she slept in back at the villa; it was large enough to fit four people quite comfortably. The coverlet and the drapes that hung from the frame were made of rich blue brocade that shimmered prettily when she ran her hands over it. She supposed that she would get tired of such overstated splendor if she had to look at it daily. Elijah had directed most of the decorating at the villa, and his tastes were far subtler than whoever had designed this room. The window opened out over and internal courtyard with a round fountain that reflected the late afternoon sky._

_Having thoroughly explored her new quarters and determining that there was nothing to entertain herself with, Sofia settled into the large bed and shut her eyes, welcoming the rest after many long days of traveling. _

* * *

_Dinner ended up being rather dull. Sofia supposed she should have been very excited—having dinner with the pope, himself—but she found herself counting the seconds until it was over. The pope was fat largely ignored her presence, and his daughter who was meant to join them had apparently taken ill and remained upstairs in her room._

_The food was wonderful, however, and Klaus had given her a new gown for the occasion. The garment was made from a lustrous golden fabric and had a much more mature silhouette than she was used to. She felt very grown up, but it turned out to be wasted on the dreadful evening. _

_When they finished with the meal, Klaus and the pope remained to discuss things that were apparently not for her ears, and she was sent in the direction of the garden to amuse herself. It was infuriating—sometimes Klaus treated her like a precious treasure, but other times he treated her like a dog. It seemed that tonight she was to be Sofia, the dog. This was not how her first night in Rome was to have gone. Not at all._

_As she made her way towards the garden, she heard girlish laughter filtering down from upstairs. Looking up the stairwell, she could see candlelight and shifting shadows flickering across the wall from some open door on the next floor. Overcome with curiosity and more than a touch of rebellious ire, Sofia tiptoed up the stairs._

_Once she was upon the landing, she found that the laughter was coming from a room only a few feet down the hall. Suddenly feeling very foolish and intrusive, she turned to make her way back down the stairs, but an unexpected voice made her stop._

_"Hello?" there was a girl, perhaps a few years older than herself leaning out of the doorway, her red hair glimmering in the soft lighting. "Who are you?"_

_Sofia felt her throat close up as all of the blood rushed to her face. "I—ah—Sofia," she answered lamely._

_"Lotta?" came a second voice from inside the room, also that of a girl. "Who are you talking to?"  
A second girl appeared in the doorway. She was very pretty with porcelain skin and long blond curls; she looked to be around Sofia's age._

_"I am sorry," Sofia said quickly, backing away. "I did not mean—I just heard voices—and—"_

_"You're the girl that came for dinner," the blond said. It wasn't a question. "The ward of the English lord."_

_Sofia nodded._

_"Well, don't just stand there. Come join us," the blonde said, beckoning to Sofia to follow her back into the room._

_The redhead smiled encouragingly, and before Sofia could change her mind, she hurried after them.  
The blond turned out to be Lucrezia, the pope's daughter. She was not truly ill; she had just not felt like sitting through another boring dinner. She was only a year older than Sofia, yet had been married to some boar of a man for two years already—a fact that greatly shocked Sofia. She had a charming way about her, but there was something in her eyes that reminded Sofia of Klaus when he thought she wasn't looking. It was uncomfortable and familiar all at once. The redhead, Lotta, was her maid and companion. Lotta was a year older than Lucrezia and very soft spoken. Her eyes were kind and her manner reserved, but she kept up with Lucrezia's sharp sense of humor well._

_Sofia spent less than half an hour talking to the pair, but it was the most time she had spent with girls her own age since leaving Barcelona with her mother. When a servant arrived to fetch her, saying that Lord Niklaus was preparing to depart, she was very sad to leave. Lucrezia couldn't leave her bedchamber—considering she was supposed to be feigning illness—but Lotta offered to escort Sofia downstairs._

_When they were walking down the stairs, one of Sofia's soft slippers slipped on the stone steps, but just as she felt here balance tipping, a hand gripping her own steadied her.  
But it was not the near-fall that startled her most—it was the rush of power and comfort that she felt when her skin touched the other girl's. Sofia had been raised among witches for more than half her life, and she instantly knew what the feeling meant._

_"You are like me," she whispered, stopping in the middle of the staircase. "A witch."_

_"Shh!" Lotta hissed frantically. "I work in the household of the most holy man in the world. Do you know what would happen to me in anyone found out?"_

_Feeling chastened, Sofia ducked her head in apology. "I am sorry. I was just surprised."_

_"So was I," Lotta assured her. "Does Lord Niklaus know?"_

_She nodded. "Yes, he has always known. My mother worked for him before she passed; that was how I came to be his ward."_

_Lotta looked thoughtful for a moment, her eyebrows narrowing over a set of intelligent brown eyes. "I bet you do not meet many other witches in the north—I have not heard of any covens in Venice, let alone the countryside."_

_Sofia only shook her head, not really wanting to divulge how lonely she was to a girl she had just met, but she had a feeling it could all be read in her expression anyway._

_"Then you are missing out on so much learning. I know two sisters who collect grimoires, and they are always happy to spread their knowledge to young witches without guidance. If the Lord Niklaus will give his position, I can sneak away long enough tomorrow afternoon to take you to see them."_

_Sofia was momentarily stunned by this generous offer. But she supposed that Lotta must have been lonely after a fashion as well, living in a home where witchcraft would earn her death._

_"I will ask him and send word in morning," Sofia replied eagerly. This was better than anything she had hoped to find in Rome. _

* * *

_The following afternoon, Sofia anxiously awaited Lotta's arrival. Klaus had been surprisingly amenable to her request; he even seemed excited that she might have the chance to expand her magical knowledge. It made her happy that he was so supportive._

_When Lotta finally arrived, she was a quarter of an hour late and very out of breath._

_"I'm sorry that I kept you waiting," she panted as she attempted to fix her hair. "Lucrezia received a visit from her brother that made her very distressed."_

_Lucrezia's brother was a cardinal, and was beginning to develop somewhat of an infamous reputation. She really wanted to ask Lotta what the Borgia siblings had discussed that upset Lucrezia so, but that seemed far too nosy. "Is it true that Cesare is very handsome?" she asked the other girl instead._

_To Sofia's surprise and delight, Lotta flushed so deeply that her skin nearly matched her hair. "He is."_

_"Are you in love with him?" Sofia whispered eagerly as they wove through the crowds along the banks of the Tiber, the servant Klaus had compelled to chaperone them trailing behind. She had always loved the idea of a great love story, but there were none to read in the library at home and certainly no one willing to tell her one._

_Lotta looked scandalized and gave a little laugh that was somewhere between a giggle and a hiccup. "No, of course not!" she looked to Sofia fondly. "You have been too sheltered, growing up with only those English lords for company."_

_Of course, Lotta was right—Sofia knew she was sheltered; she was bored and ignorant and had more questions about the world than she knew what to do with. "Then why did you blush so much when I said his name?"_

_A secret smile danced across the redhead's lips, and Sofia wondered when she would have reason to smile like that. "He is very handsome, and daring, and…charming. Not like you would expect a cardinal to be at all. Last autumn, after a feast, he…" Lotta looked around nervously and lowered her voice. "Well, he kissed me. I did not let it go farther, but it was wonderful! I cannot stop thinking about it."_

_Sofia sighed dreamily at the other girl's confession as her eyes wandered over the glittering surface of the river. This was the sort of romance that she expected Rome to be full of. "That is so romantic."_

_"Perhaps," Lotta chuckled. "But I am just a servant, and he is the son of the pope—even if he is illegitimate."_

_A moment later, Lotta grabbed Sofia's hand and pulled her down a narrow street. The buildings on either side cast the entire street into shadow, and the few windows and doors that they passed were either shuttered or dark. Finally, Lotta stopped them in front of a door that was unmarked and had no handle._

_Lotta laid her hand on the wood and motioned for Sofia to do the same. "Push a little bit of your magic into the door."_

_Sofia concentrated and did as she was told, feeling the slight rush of heat in her palm. The door swung open, and Lotta pulled her inside. Before they shut the door behind them, Sofia turned to Klaus' servant who had made to follow the girls._

_"Wait here," she ordered._

_"But Lord Ni—"_

_"I do not care what he said. I am saying that you shall wait here." And with that, she let the door swing shut in his face._

_The room they found themselves in was very cramped and very dark. Lotta groped around in the darkness for a moment before finding a handle at pushing open a second door._

_The next room was full of books. No, not books—_grimoires. _Sofia let out a little gasp. She had never seen so many in one place. The room had low ceilings, and every wall was lined with shelves that sagged under the weight of the tomes upon them. There was a round, grated skylight in the center of the ceiling that sent fragmented dust motes of light spilling across the floor and the round table in the very middle of the room._

_At the table were four chairs. Two of the chairs were empty, but the other two were occupied by two almost identical women. It was impossible to tell how old they were; there was something in their features that suggested they might be as old as any grandmother, but at the same time, they looked youthful enough to be in their primes. Their dark skin sucked in the light unnaturally, and they bother wore their hair pulled into tight buns at the backs of their heads. Their dresses were gray and nondescript. Sofia found them both terribly frightening and inarguably compelling all at once._

_"Hello, sisters," Lotta said politely, her tone slightly reverent. "I have brought a new friend. I think she could benefit from your knowledge."_

_One of the sisters smiled, her skin stretching over her face in a way that just didn't look quite right.  
But it was the other sister that spoke. "And it is our purpose to share the knowledge that we keep. Please sit," she paused, gesturing to the remaining two chairs. "Lotta and Sofia."_

_"How did she know my name?" Sofia asked in wonder as she slid into one of the chairs._

_"The Benedicte sisters are clairvoyant," Lotta replied with a smile. She seemed very happy to be sharing this with Sofia._

_"We know much more than your name, sweet girl," said the second sister._

_Sofia's eyes widened with excitement. "Do you mean that you can see my future?"_

_"Yes," said the first sister. "But I am afraid we cannot share it with you. The future is more fragile than the most delicate of silks, and yours is a very important thread."_

_Sofia looked to Lotta in awe, who smiled at her expression. "I told you that you were missing out by living with those vampires."_

_Sofia shifted nervously in her seat. She did not miss the identical grim expressions that flashed across the sisters' faces. "Lotta said that you collect knowledge about magic and that you are willing to share," Sofia said, hoping to steer the conversation away from Elijah and Klaus. "I—I have so much I would like to learn."_

_The second sister smiled benevolently. "Yes, we can see this. But we are not a library. Tell us what you wish to learn, and we will give you the tools to teach yourself."_

_Sofia leaned back in her chair, pondering what she should ask. How could she choose just one thing? Since the loss of her mother, she had no teacher, no one to guide her. There was not one thing that she wished to learn—there were thousands. And then she thought of the sealed room and the four coffins—she was so certain that they contained secrets of insurmountable value. And Sofia loved nothing if not secrets, was nothing if not curious._

_"In our home—the villa—there is a door," she said, not sure how to explain it so that the sisters would know how to help her._

_But it seemed she did not need to explain. The first sister flicked her hand at the shelf behind them, and a grimoire bound in stained and tattered leather came soaring to land on the table. "This holds the spell you seek."_

_Sofia reached for the tome, but the first sister slid it from her reach._

_"And what do you offer in return?"_

_"I—" Sofia looked to Lotta nervously. She had nothing to trade; she had nothing of her own._

_"The Benedicte sisters trade in promises," Lotta explained. "You must offer them a promise as payment."_

_Well that was very strange. "What do you want me to promise?" she asked the sisters, searching the depths of their dark eyes fruitlessly for a clue._

_"One day you will meet one of our descendants," said the second sister. "We ask that you not harm her in any way, no matter how it may benefit your goals."_

_Sofia felt relived; that would be an easy promise to keep. Unless the descendant was Katerina Petrova (highly unlikely), she could not imagine why she would want to harm her._

_"I promise," Sofia answered._

_She expected there to be some sort of magical reaction, but nothing happened. She felt nothing. Or perhaps she did feel something—an indefinable tether to something she could not name._

_"And now this is yours," said the first sister, placing the grimoire in Sofia's waiting hands._

_"The whole thing?" she asked. "But I only need one spell."_

_"Consider it our gift to a young witch with much to learn."_

_"Thank you," she said sincerely. She flipped open the grimoire, only to realize that the spells were in a language that she did not recognize. "Wait, I do not recognize these symbols."_

_"It is __Pārsīg," said the second sister, the foreign word sounding strange to Sofia's ears. "And this is the spell you seek." She waved her hand and the grimoire flipped to a page about a third of the way in. "You will have to find a way to translate it on your own."_

_Sofia was disappointed; there was a slim chance Klaus or Elijah would speak the language, but if they did not, it could take her months or even years to find a way to translate it. But once she did, she would have an entire volume's worth of entirely foreign spells—so much potential was in those pages._

_Sofia and Lotta took their leave after that, the Benedicte sisters asking her to come back and visit the next time she came to Rome. As the girls made their way back to the villa where she and Klaus were staying, Sofia found herself voicing a question that had been turning about in her head since they left._

_"What happens if I break the promise?" she asked. "Has anyone ever broken a promise to the sisters?"_

_Lotta looked pensive, her eyebrows furrowed. "I do not know what happens if you break it. Something bad I suppose. I do not know of anyone who has ever dared."_

* * *

Sofia called Elijah later than evening, just as she had promised. Her gave her an address for a place that he promised they could meet safely. As soon as she could she made her way to the small apartment building on the outskirts of Mystic Falls. When she knocked on the door, however, it was answered not by Elijah, but by a teenage boy that she thought she recognized as the new kid she'd seen hanging around Bonnie.

"Luka, right?" she asked, enjoying the expression of shock and mild fear on his face. "I'm looking for a friend of mine. Is he in?"

"Who are you?" he asked firmly. Smart kid.

"This is Sofia," Elijah said, appearing behind Luka in the doorway. "Please invite her in."  
Luka shifted nervously. Sensing his agitation, Sofia put on her least threatening expression. "I promise not to harm you. I am a friend to witches."

The boy seemed to debate her statement for a moment before nodding his head. "You can come in."

Sofia paid his no more attention as she shouldered past him and collapsed into Elijah's arms.

"I've missed you," she murmured, burying her face in his chest. Despite their disagreements over the centuries, Elijah could always make her feel safe.

"And I you, my dear," Elijah answered as he placed a hand on the small of her back and led her into the living room. "Luka," he said, addressing the young warlock that still watched them in confusion. "I am sorry to ask, but is there somewhere you could go for about an hour or so? Sofia and I have several important things to discuss."

Luka's eyes widened comically, and he flushed slightly before nodding, grabbing his coat, and quickly slipping out the door.

Sofia chuckled. "You do know what he thinks we're doing, don't you?"

"Of course." Elijah looked nonplussed. "I figured it was the most efficient way to achieve some privacy."

Sofia was filled with unmistakable fondness at his statement—it was such an Elijah thing to say. "So, as much as I'd like to get caught up on the last decade, I think there are more important things to discuss," she said as she settled herself on the sofa.

"You are correct." The Original sat in the armchair across from her, his expression expectant but displaying little else.

She repressed the childish urge to roll her eyes. She knew how this went; she needed to divulge her intentions before Elijah would consider offering his.

"I came to Mystic Falls because I heard a whisper that Katherine Pierce had been spotted headed in this direction. How Klaus never realized the infamous Katherine Pierce was actually Katerina, I'll never know, but that's another matter. Anyway, once I arrived, I discovered her true purpose for returning: the doppelganger. So I let her go about assembling the ingredients for the ritual before finally calling on the trust of an old friend and integrating myself into the doppelganger's circle. Then I helped imprison Katerina and summoned Klaus, telling him I had collected everything he needed to finally break his curse." Sofia explained what she had been up to in the past few weeks with as little embellishment as possible, knowing Elijah would appreciate her brevity.

The older vampire nodded thoughtfully, though his eyes seemed more sorrowful than usual. "And am I correct in assuming that you plan to offer these ingredients in exchange for Kol's freedom?"

Sofia felt her undead heart skip a beat in her chest. It had been so long since she'd heard someone say his name. "Yes, that is the plan. I am only to ask that he is finally undaggered, but I'm hoping that Klaus will be so pleased he'll offer eternal freedom—though that is probably too ambitious."

Elijah pursed his lips and ducked his head. The skin around his eyes was very tight.

Sofia sighed, the disappointment settling like a weight on her chest. "You're going to ask me to change my plans, aren't you?"

He seemed to deliberate his answer for a moment. "I am glad that you have summoned Klaus, though if things go according to my attentions, I would not count on him being very pleased at all."

"What are you planning to do?"

"I'm planning to kill him."

Sofia gasped, unable to contain her reaction. She knew that plenty of bad blood existed between Klaus and Elijah—between all of the Mikaelson siblings, really—but they were still _brothers. _ She couldn't fathom ever reaching a point where she would feel compelled to kill her own family…not that she had any family left.

"He will be at his weakest point when he starts to transition upon the completion of the ritual," Elijah continued, unfazed by her shocked reaction. "I believe that if a witch can channel enough power, he can be killed."

Sofia nodded slowly, still having trouble processing that Elijah—kind, noble, _good _Elijah—was planning to kill his little brother. "With enough magic, anything can be killed."

"Precisely."

"I will not stand in your way," Sofia said. She was being honest, for her loyalty to Elijah ran deeper than her loyalty to Klaus, but for some reason the words were reluctant to leave her lips. She shook off her discomfort, however. "I only ask that we figure out where he's keeping their coffins first. My goal was always to free Kol, but Rebekah does not deserve to remain in a box. And Finn, I've never met him, but nine hundred years is long enough."

"No, none of them deserve this," Elijah said sadly.

Sofia stood up from the sofa and crossed the room to kneel at his feet. She grabbed one of his hands with both of hers. "Don't look so sad. We _will _free them."

Elijah ran a hand over her unruly curls and leaned over to press a kiss to her brow. "Of course we will."

* * *

A few days later found Sofia standing at Elijah's side as he rang the doorbell of the Salvatore boarding house. Elijah hadn't wanted her to accompany him at first, but she begged, seeing it as an opportunity to hopefully spin another lie that would make Damon trust her again. After five hundred years, Sofia had realized that friends were harder to come by than one would think, and she didn't want to lose one just because he had been foolish enough to fall for another Petrova doppelganger.

She could hear someone inside the house making their way to answer the door, and she nervously ran her hands over her outfit one more time. As old as she was, she often forgot that she only looked to be in her late teens, and she had tried very hard to not look like a kid crashing the adult party. She decided to skip her usual flouncy dress in favor for a pair of slim black pants paired with a silky silver top and black heels to add a little height to her tiny stature. She looked good—she knew it, and she also knew she was just trying to distract herself from the impending confrontation.

She didn't have time to worry much longer, however, because the door swung open, revealing Damon wearing a grin so fake it probably hurt.

"Good evening," Elijah immediately said, ever the gentleman. "I hope you don't mind that I brought a guest."

"Sophie." Damon acknowledged her presence with a tightening of his jaw. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd hightailed your ass out of town when you realized we were all about to find out what a little traitor you are."

Sofia suddenly felt very foolish. She would never take back her actions or stay her current course, but she was a fool to think that Damon would forgive her no matter how pretty Elijah's lie would be.

"I'm afraid that's my fault," Elijah intervened to fill the silence. "Sofia and I are old friends, and I sent her here to do a little reconnaissance when I heard that the lovely Katerina was in town. I compelled her not to divulge her intentions. I assure you that she never meant you or your friends any harm."

"Please believe him, Damon," Sofia pleaded. She didn't know why she was trying so hard to salvage a friendship that could have no future, not with what she was planning to let happen to Elena, but she couldn't just let it go. "I hated lying to you. I really did want to kill Katerina, and I couldn't say anything about Elena and the curse because I was compelled. Please accept my apology."

Damon crossed his arms, looking down at her with an unreadable expression on his handsome face. "Acceptance pending," he grumbled. "However, this is a night for friendliness,so please, come in."

Elijah held up his hand, clearly needing to add one more thing. "Just one moment. Can I just say that if you have less than honorable intentions about how this evening is going to proceed, I suggest you reconsider."

Damon smiled disarmingly. "No, nothing dishonorable. Just getting to know you."

"Hm. Well that's good," Elijah said airily as he swept past Damon, tucking Sofia's arm into his as he went. "Because, you know, although Elena and I have this deal…if you so much as make a move to cross me I'll kill you and I'll kill everyone in this house—except for dear Sofia of course. Are we clear?"

Damon's eyes hardened. "Crystal."

* * *

The dinner was tense, but not entirely unpleasant. The awkwardness that came from everyone present at the table with the exception of Jenna being in the know concerning the supernatural and all related issues was equal parts amusing and stressful. The food was alright, though, so it wasn't a complete waste of an evening.

After the meal, Sofia joined Jenna and Andy—Damon's compelled and very annoying fake girlfriend—in the kitchen to help with dessert. She felt a bit out of place considering Jenna was obviously wondering what a much younger girl was doing at the dinner party, but the two women were relatively good company.

When Andy went into the other room to check on the men, Jenna turned to Sofia with a slightly distressed look on her face. "Please tell me you know anything about cooking," she said with an awkward laugh. "This mousse is way out of my comfort zone, and I'm pretty sure I ruined it."

Sofia grimaced. "I'm sorry to say that I don't." And now that she thought about it, it was a little odd that she'd been on the planet for half a millennia and could barely make anything more complex than scrambled eggs.

Jenna said something in response, but Sofia was distracted by a pained gasp coming from the other room. She made a quick excuse to Jenna and returned to the dining room only to see a sight she had never expected to encounter outside of the presence of Klaus—Elijah's desiccated body.

"Elijah? What did you—"

There was sharp pain in her neck, and the room began to blur.

"Sorry, Soph," she heard Damon whisper in her ear as everything went dark.

* * *

_Republic of Venice, Italy – March, 1496_

_ As it turned out, neither Elijah nor Klaus spoke __Pārsīg, but Sofia had convinced Elijah to find her a translator. It had taken several months for him to locate a scholar from the east that studied the archaic language and could provide a translation in a language that Sofia would understand. But once it had been translated, it didn't take long for Sofia to make sense of the unsealing spell and find her way into the door in the cellar. _

_ The room was small and windowless, the only light coming from the candle she'd brought with her. The coffins were its only contents. She hadn't planned on doing anything once she'd gotten into the room. Perhaps investigating the contents of the coffins, yes, but her goal was only to unlock the room. It was about the challenge, not whatever discovery would follow. _

_But then she saw what the coffins held—bodies. There were three—the fourth coffin remained sealed no matter what spells she tried—and it hadn't taken long to determine who they must be. She remembered that Elijah had once mentioned in passing that three of his other siblings had been made vampires as well, but that they were dead. _

_The bodies before her were not dead. Sofia could feel the magic rolling off of them, all centered around the silver daggers in their chests. Call it witch's intuition, but she had a feeling that removing the daggers would awaken them. Which begged the question: why were they still sleeping? Sofia wasn't blind; she knew Klaus was in charge, despite being Elijah's junior. So if their siblings—and they had to be siblings for the younger man looked so similar to Elijah that there could be no other option—were left daggered, it could only be because Klaus had wanted them to remain that way. _

_ She wasn't planning to do anything once she got into the room, but that was before what Klaus said to her that morning. She had awoken to the sound of abnormal amounts of activity and rushed from her room to find Klaus preparing to depart on another trip to Rome. She'd asked if she could join him, but he said no. So then she had begged, and he finally snapped. _

"I don't want you to come!" _he had snarled, fangs dropping to make his point. _

_ Sofia was angry and feeling slighted; what better way to get back at him than by waking up his siblings? He deserved whatever trouble they caused for him, Sofia justified. _

_ So she walked over to the sibling she had chosen—the younger man because his clothing was the most recent, meaning he would probably wake up the quickest—and pulled the dagger out in one swift movement. Then she waited with bated breath, leaning over the coffin and staring down at his gray face. Nothing happened, and her feet were starting to hurt, so she settled herself on top of the sealed coffin to wait. It was pushed against the wall, so she slid all the way onto it and leaned her head back against the cool stone, wishing it didn't take so long to raise a vampire from a magical nap. _

_ She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, she had been hauled to her feet and it felt like someone was tearing out her throat. _

_ Someone _was _tearing out her throat. _

_ She pulled on every reserve of magic she had and pushed it towards the vampire with no other objective other than causing as much pain as possible. It worked, and he dropped to the ground with his hands wrapped around his skull as he hissed in pain. Sofia held a hand up to her neck, trying to stop the bleeding. _

_ "Stop trying to eat me!" she yelled. "I'm the one that rescued you!"_

_ She let up on the pain a little bit, allowing him enough relief to speak. "And why would a witch want to rescue me?" he ground out, glaring up at her with dark brown eyes. Her blood covered his mouth and chin, a single drop running over his jaw and down his neck. _

_ "Because I'm angry with your brother," she answered haughtily, trying to mask the fact that the room was beginning to spin and she could barely stand. _

_ He let out a pained laugh. "Niklaus tends to inspire this kind of response his mistresses, but they don't usually retaliate so spectacularly."_

_ Sofia gritted her teeth and sent another wave of magic at him. "I'm not his mistress," she snarled._

_ "Point taken," he growled. "Now would you stop trying to melt my brain?"_

_ "Do you promise not to hurt me?" _

_ He nodded, eyes beginning to water. _

_ "Say it," Sofia demanded. _

_ He raised his head, looking up at her from his knees. "I promise not to hurt you."_

_ "Very well." She reigned in her magic and allowed him to rise to his feet. _

_ He was very tall, she observed. She had felt much more secure with him cowering on the floor. She craned her neck to look up at him, wavering slightly as a fresh wave of dizziness washed over her. _

_ He caught her arm, steadying her. "You're going to faint."_

_ Sofia snatched her arm back. "Thank you for that brilliant observation."_

_ He chuckled, giving her an appraising glance. "I could heal you."_

_ She glared at him, silently expressing that if his blood got anywhere near her he'd be back in the coffin before he could blink. But then she felt a warm rivulet of blood escape from beneath her hand and run down the side of her neck to meet with the neckline of her gown. He was right; she was going to fait if she lost any more blood._

_ "It's the least you could do," she relented. _

_ He smirked, keeping his eyes locked on hers as he brought his wrist to his mouth and bit down. He offered her the wound, the blood shining dark and black in the candlelight. "Drink up, darling."_

_ Sofia stepped forward cautiously, taking his forearm with both hands. She looked up, but as soon as their eyes met she looked away, suddenly embarrassed. For something so repulsive, the gesture seemed uncomfortably intimate. She brought his wrist to her lips, sucking hard and letting the metallic liquid run down her throat. She dropped his arm and took a large step back as soon as she felt the wound on her neck begin to knit back together. _

_ "Thank you," she said quietly. His blood still coated her tongue. _

_ "It was my pleasure." _

_ Sofia felt her face heat, and she was glad for the relative darkness of the room. He was very handsome—even if half of his face was still stained with her blood. And she had lost her mind, apparently. _

_ "So if you're not my brother's mistress—not surprising, seeing as you're just a child—then what are you? A new pet of his?" _

_ Sofia didn't even know which part of his statement she was supposed to be most insulted by. She was _not _a child. How _dare _he assume she was a mistress in the first place? But most importantly, "I am _not _a pet!" _

_ "Fine, fine," he snickered, holding his hands up in surrender. "Not a pet."_

_ The regarded each other silently for a moment. Sofia realized they must have looked a sight—both covered in blood and glaring at each other while surrounded by coffins. _

_ "And what name should I call my attacker?" Sofia asked, hostility dripping through her words. _

_ "The devilishly handsome man who kindly decided not to kill you?" He raised a teasing eyebrow. "I go by Kol, thank you." _

_ "Kol," she said softly, turning the name over with her tongue. _

_ "And you, young witch? Who are you?" _

_ "Sofia." _

_ "Sofia," he mused, tilting his head to the side as he looked at her. "A pretty name for my pretty little rescuer."_

* * *

**Thank you to everyone who's followed/favorited/reviewed. Now I know this thing was super long, so I'd like to thank you for reading it all. **_  
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